


Reach Out

by MysteriousMew



Category: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (Video Game)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:25:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 53,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5610433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteriousMew/pseuds/MysteriousMew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zatanna tried to forget her failure in the courtroom, she didn't exactly mean being turned into a vampire. Now, thrust into this secret society of betrayal, predators and clans, Zatanna must fulfil her goals, figure out what's happening, stop a war breaking out and find her humanity again. Sounds hard, but not when a numbered man watches from the shadows. Bloodlines fanfiction.</p><p>Originally posted on Fanficition.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Zatanna sighed quietly, standing along with everyone else in the courtroom. She knew what the jury had decided, it was plainly obvious, but she felt bad for her client's family. She had tried her hardest, fought tooth and nail against it but the sentence was inevitable.

"How does the jury find the defendant?" Judge Croft asked, looking at a middle aged African American woman with short raven hair, short and a little chubby.

"We find the defendant," she spoke as everyone held their breaths. "Guilty, your Honour."

Zatanna could see Josh's hope fall from his face by the corner of her eye and she bit the inside of her cheek, feeling pissed off by the result.

"Then I declare the defendant, Joshua Mathews, sentenced for ten years without parole," Judge Croft slammed his hammer on his podium as Zatanna dared to look at the sixteen year old beside her.

"Josh, I'm so sorry," Zatanna murmured, feeling like the worst person in the entire world. She expected him to be angry, to protest against the sentence. He _was_ innocent after all, that was the hard and sickening part.

She didn't expect him to smile warmly at her, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to appear from his eyes. "It's okay, at least I don't have to go to school anymore," he said as the guards removed him from the courtroom.

Zatanna swallowed, shoving her files and paperwork into her briefcase before leaving the courtroom in a furious pace. She hated this, hated the fact that she lost and someone had to pay the price of a crime he didn't commit.

 _He never raped those girls, why do the innocent have to fall while fucking bastards rise?_ She thought angrily, ignoring the press as they tried to get her statements on the court case.

She needed to think….no, she needed to _not_ think. About the case, about today and certainly not about how shitty the world truly was. As Zatanna whipped out her phone, pressing number three on speed dial, an idea was coming to her mind.

When the receiver picked up, Zatanna was definitely not going to regret this. "May, still got those tickets to that club?"

**oOo**

**Hours Later…**

When she and May were teenagers, Zatanna discovered that, although drunk, she didn't show it or acted like it. In fact, people _assumed_ she couldn't get drunk, that she had a stomach of an Irish lass. While her mother was Irish, Zatanna mostly got her drinking from her young days drinking wine in Italy with her father. Though she had her mother's fiery orange curls, the Italian blood she carried was evident on her tanned skin and brown eyes.

So there she was, sitting by the bar, watching May dry hump some lucky blonde surfer looking guy, while slowly drinking and nursed some Margarita from her glass cup.

"Hey there, gorgeous,"

Zatanna looked over, finding a man pale skin, dark black hair with a black blouse on, smirking at her. His eyes held her in some kind of trance, for some reason, her body tingled with fear and anticipation. She was interested in some kind of beastly way.

"Hey yourself," Zatanna replied, flashing a seductive smile. Oh god, her mother would be ashamed of her behaviour if she saw this. Zatanna Ible was _not_ some putanna you find on the streets but a respectable woman…until she drank.

His eyes drank her in, studying her before a flash of red went through them. Normally, she would be suspicious but the alcohol in her system just made her excited in _every_ way.

"Certainly a girl like you could use some company," he said, sitting closer to her and lightly brushing his fingers against hers. A flash of electricity hit her, not in the romantic sense but it still intrigued her. "Or do you already have a man?"

Zatanna snorted. "Yeah right, like some Signore could handle all of this," she gestured to herself, her Italian accent coming out strong. May had often pointed it out that when she drank; Italian Zatanna came out loud and proud.

"You're right, no man could ever deserve you," he gently grabbed a lock of her hair that draped down her bare shoulders, his eyes piercing hers with a fixed gaze. "But it doesn't hurt to try."

"Are you trying to get into my pants?"

"Is it working?"

Zatanna blinked before leaning forward, nipping his earlobe before putting her lips towards his ear. "You bet your ass it is," she whispered, grabbing his crotch and hearing a low growl escape from him. Oh, this was going to be fun.

**oOo**

This was no longer fun.

Her hands, bound behind her back by some kind of burning rope, her head pounding and her mind confused and blurry, Zatanna was no longer having fun.

Looking over at the guy from the club, she couldn't help but glare at him murderously, her eyes filled with hatred and disgust for him. He did something to her, something that changed her and now she had been kidnapped by a bunch of weirdos. That, and there was this constant burning sensation in her throat, like someone had shoved a hot knife down it.

 _I want to show you something,_ he had said to her while they were having pretty decent drunken sex. She expected some new sex position, _not_ a pair of fucking fangs being jabbed into her neck and then dying.

 _He showed me something alright,_ she thought dryly, looking away and looking straight ahead as a blonde male in a black coat walked in front of them.

"Good evening," he began as the few people who filled the room sat down in different areas. "My fellow Kindred, my apologises for disrupting any business or interfering with prior engagements you may have had this evening."

"It is unfortunate that the affair that gathered us together tonight is a troubling one. We are here because the laws that bind our society, the laws that are the fabric of our existence, have been broken."

 _I'm so sorry, let me grab my violin,_ she thought sarcastically, not liking the man one bit. Something about him made her skin crawl and not in a good way.

"As prince, I am within my rights to grant or deny any Kindred of this city the privilege of siring. Many of you have come to me seeking permission and I have endorsed some of these requests. However," he paused in his steps, standing close to Zatanna. "The accused that sits before you tonight was not refused permission. Indeed, my permission was never sort at all."

"They were caught shortly after the Embrace of this child—"

Zatanna glared at him. "I'm not a child! I didn't even fucking want this! This fucking bastardo decided to munch on my neck!" Zatanna exclaimed furiously, thrashing in her binds as the room fell silent. Stunned looks were granted to her, along with some amused ones.

The prince looked at her with distain. "It would be wise for the accused to stay _silent_ ," he hissed before turning back to the audience. "It pains me to announce the sentence, as up to tonight I considered the accused a loyal and upstanding member of our organisation."

"But as some of you may know, the penalty for this transgression is death."

Zatanna froze, hearing the word 'death,' pass his lips.

"Know that I am no more a judicator than a servant to the law that governs us all. Let tonight's proceedings serve as a reminder to our community, that we _must_ adhere to the code that binds our society, lest we endanger all of our blood."

The man bent down, stroking the guy's face. "Forgive me," he said, the fake sincerity so clear to Zatanna's ears as the man's head was severed from his bother.

Zatanna's eyes widened, flinching and quickly looking away from the scarring sight that will no doubt haunt her.

"Which leads to the fate of the ill-begotten progeny," he stated and Zatanna knew he was referring to her. "Without a sire, most child are doomed to walk the earth, never knowing their place, their responsibility and most importantly, the laws they must obey."

 _I don't like where this is going,_ Zatanna, using her lawyer mind, knew what fate she would have as he kept talking. Good bye cruel world indeed.

"Therefore, I have decided that—"

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!"

Zatanna's eyes snapped to the owner of the voice, finding a man with dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes and a goatee on his chin standing up, anger clear on his face. A few of the people around him tried to restraint him and louds murmurs filled the theatre. Zatanna witnessed more people standing up, rebelling looks on their faces.

Her eyes went back to the man who shouted, seeing the furious look in his eye. He was angry for her, for how cruel the laws of vampires were…her eyes softened in a silent thank you.

"If Mr Rodriguez would let me finish," the prince said curtly. "I have decided to let this Kindred live."

Zatanna's whole body slumped with relief, almost to the point of crying when she heard those sweet words. Maybe someone was finally looking out for her.

"She shall be instructed in the ways of our kind and be granted the same rights. Let no one say I am unsympathetic to the flights and causes to this community. I thank you all for attending these proceedings and I hope their significance is not lost. Good evening."

The man gave her one last look before exiting the theatre with his people close behind him.


	2. Chapter One - Masquerade

**Chapter One:**

**Masquerade**

_I've shown you great clemency –_ Sebastian LaCroix.

As Zatanna exited the theatre via backstage after her 'charming,' chat with LaCroix, a voice startled her.

"What a scene, man! Hoo-wee! Then just plop ya out here like a naked baby in the woods. How 'bout that?" he paused, seeing the less than amused look on Zatanna's face. "Ah…look, kiddo, this is probably a lot for you to take in—"

"Oh no," Zatanna said bluntly, sarcasm in her voice as she crossed her arms across her chest. "No, this shit happens to me on a daily bases. (Of course this is a lot to take in you fucking red-neck!)"

He let out a low whistle. "Slow down kiddo, I don't understand Italian. For a Tremere, you sure have a lot of anger. You sure you're not a Brujah?"

"The fuck is a Brujah?" she snapped at him and he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Obviously, he wasn't used to dealing with people like her.

"Why don't you let me show you the ropes?" he offered and I looked at him suspiciously. "The name's Jack. What's yours kiddo?"

"Zatanna Ible," she answered simply, still looking at him warily but for some reason, he had a nice air around him. Some kind of sixth sense she was feeling in the back of her mind.

"Then kiddo, if you make it back from Santa Monica with your hide then we'll trade life stories, m'kay?"

**oOo**

**Day One…**

**Location: Santa Monica**

Jack wasn't as bad as she had thought, in fact, the guy was kind enough to show her a few things, teach her some stuff that apparently her sire was supposed to do.

Now that she was in Santa Monica, just before dawn, Zatanna was forced to wait inside her 'haven,' which the Camarilla used until night resurfaced. Looking down at her body, even through the brief darkness that filled her room from the curtains, Zatanna knew she had to change from the skimpy dress she was currently wearing.

 _I don't have any money though…unless I can access my bank account. Maybe LaCrotch wouldn't mind,_ she figured, heading to the desk that had a laptop on it, a yellow notepad with some writing on it, a note and an envelope. She grabbed the envelope first, opening it and finding $100 dollars inside before putting it back down on the desk.

_**At your convenience, please come and visit me in my home downtown. I leave you this to guide you.** _

_**Dark blood, our curse, slight this verse.** _

_**Such power I sense in one so young.** _

_**Come find me where burnt the mystical own.** _

_**M. Strauss, Tremere Primogen.** _

_Great, a riddle,_ Zatanna muttered in her head, putting it back down before briefly looking at the yellow notepad. It had written, a message from some Mercurio guy she was supposed to help out. All it was telling her was her new password for the laptop provided by LaCroix.

Before checking her emails, she decided to raid what looked like a dresser and finding a pair of light blue jeans with rips near the knees and a black tank top.

"Beggars can't be choosers," she muttered, closing the door before turning her attention to the laptop and reading the emails. As she logged out after reading the reminder from LaCroix, exhaustion hit her like a ton of bricks. "(Better sleep before going on some insane job.)"

**oOo**

**Day Two…**

**Location: Santa Monica**

As soon as night had fallen over the city of Santa Monica, Zatanna had eagerly left the haven and was now walking down the street, ignoring the bums and men whistling out to her.

"(Now where did the email say to go?)" Zatanna murmured to herself in Italian, trying to recall as she walked further down the pavement. Something caught her eye, a man dressed in business like clothing with an annoyed look on his face. A burning sensation in her throat served as a reminder that she was now a vampire, and unfortunately vampires dined on blood. Fucking gross.

 _Jack did say high class were some of the best kinds of blood,_ she reminded herself as she approached him, flashing a smile in greeting. He looked startled by her before a look of distain filled his eyes, obviously seeing her attire.

"Eh? Yes, is there something I can, umm…help you with?" he asked her and she crossed her arms across her chest.

"What are you doing?" Zatanna asked him curiously, trying to ignore the blood thirst and a presence in the back of her mind surfacing. That must be the Beast Jack had warned her about.

"Waiting for that blasted tow truck I called an hour ago. I'd rather not wait another second in this part of town, this time of night. It's a rather dreadful place, don't you think?" he asked and without waiting for her reply, continued on with his rant. "I should've listened to my mechanic – 'buy German, -he said."

The urgency for the blood became stronger, calling her and she bit back a growl of irritation before looking at him straight in the eye. " _Meet me in the alley_ ," she told him, some kind of buzz hitting her mind as the words left his mind. A flash of red passed through his eyes before they disappeared completely.

"I've suddenly got the urge to walk down that…dark and foreboding alley over there. Care to join me?" he asked her in a monotone, trance like voice.

Zatanna frowned, confused to what just occurred before nodding. "I'll meet you there," she answered, watching him leave the sidewalk and headed down the alley before following after him.

As he stood by the stone wall, Zatanna, recalling the Masquerade, looking briefly over her shoulders before some kind of primal feeling overtook her senses. One minute she was checking for any unwanted eyes and the next her mouth is against the man's neck, the sweet, warm taste of blood filling her mouth and running down her throat.

_**Yes…drink….** _

Zatanna opened her eyes, pushing the man away from her as he slumped down against the wall, slightly passed out from the drain as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, licking the small amount of blood.

Her thirst was gone, the Beast was once again no longer in her mind and she felt sick to her stomach. Small tears came to her eyes as she hugged herself briefly, hating what she had become.

"Oh god, I'm a monster," she whispered to herself, her voice filled with grief. A flash of anger as she remembered her sire caused the grief to disappear and she punched a nearby wall in a fit of anger. This was her life now and no matter what she thought of it, she had to accept it. Didn't mean she had to like it though.

Taking one last glance at the unconscious man, Zatanna forced herself out of that alley and headed towards Mercurio's place. Immediately, she smelt the scent of blood and found a trail of it leading to the last door on the right.

As she entered, finding a badly beaten man on the couch, lying in a pool of his own blood, she swallowed her disgust. "Jesus Christ, what the fuck happened?"

He tried to himself up but groaned in pain, settling for leaning on his elbow as he forced himself to look up. "I got…I went…uh…." He glanced down at his side. "What is this lump? Is this my rib? Oh, holy shit, my rib is pokin' through my side? Oh, I'm all numb…you gotta look and tell me."

Zatanna's face twisted with disgust. "It's a broken bottle," she snapped at him, looking away. "Now, tell me what happened to you."

"Goddamn chemist! Can't trust any operations in L.A. I verified him, organisation seemed reliable. Guys mixes up speed, his crew sells it. Occasionally does explosives. I set up a drop," he explained through a wheezed tone, occasionally grimacing in pain. "I show up at the beach with the money, right? Four of these guys, they came out of nowhere. Junkie pricks – hit me with a bat! Head feels like I got a freakin' horse kickin' it."

"I never shoulda gone alone…amateur move. I shoulda handled those pricks. Goddamn dirty Cali rat bastards," Mercurio cursed as more blood seeped through his clothing and onto the couch. "These cocksuckers – beat me rotten, left me for stiff. I had to crawl to my car, crawl my ass up here. The vamp blood's the only thing holdin' me together. But shit, they got the money, they got the Astrolite…"

That caught Zatanna attention and she frowned at him, crossing her arms across her chest. "Vamp blood?" she asked him, slightly disturbed by the mention of it.

"Right, you're straight off the bus," he realised, forgetting that little detail over the pain. "Once a month I get fed vampire blood. Heals me faster, makes me stronger than a normal human. I don't age," he laughed bitterly. "By lookin' at me, you wouldn't realise it, but I'm almost sixty."

Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Did you learn anything from this experience, genius?" she asked him sarcastically and her glared at her.

"Hold on – you think I'm some amateur?" he spat at her before wincing in pain. "I got their number. Those small-time sons of bitches live out in a dump on the beach. Maybe four or five of 'em. The one's got explosives is Dennis. Got my money too, that prick!"

Zatanna gave him a tired look. "How do I get there?"

"Layin' in a pool of my own blood and you want friggin' directions?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm not exactly from around here."

Mercurio shook his head. "Right, alright: uh, down the street, in the parking garage, stairs down to the beach, on the right. Those better not be some o' my last words."

Zatanna turned on her heel and began walking out but looked back a bit, feeling a sense of pain of her own just looking at him. Somehow, his pain was transferring to her slightly. "Look, is there anything I can get you…for the pain?"

"I need somethin' for the pain," he groaned out, laying his head on the couch and Zatanna felt herself nod.

"Sit tight, I'll be back soon," she murmured, leaving the room.

**oOo**

Watching the shirtless guy standing out front, Zatanna carefully snuck around the van and went through a hole in the fence, pausing to make sure no one had heard her.

Honestly, this wasn't what she ever had in mind when LaCroix told her she would have 'trials,' to prove her worth. No lesson in law school ever mentioned about crawling through fences to get some explosives.

She heard voices coming from the house as she crept in the shadows, heading down the back and finding the power switch. An idea came to her mind as she quickly ran over to the switch, pulling it down and effectively shutting off all the power inside the house.

"What the—"

"Dude, who the hell turned off the power?!"

"Get the lights before I shove that controller up your ass!"

Zatanna quickly hid in the dark, pressing herself against the wooden fence behind as she waited. A moment later, a guy holding a baseball bat came out, muttering angrily under his breath.

 _Please forgive me,_ Zatanna prayed in her mind as she crept up behind him and snapped his neck. His dead body fell to the ground without a sound and she grabbed the bat from his dead body. She didn't have a gun and a clue how to fight with her fists so this would have to do.

Zatanna let out a shaky breath before closing her eyes and calming herself down and walking into the house. Immediately, the two men in the kitchen spotted her and charged at her with tire irons and another bat.

Tightening her grip on the bat, she began swinging it around, hitting their heads, faces, stomachs and even their crotch. Whatever made them fall unconscious worked for her.

Occasionally, one or two managed to get her on her arms or back before facing the wrath of her bat. After they fell to the ground, unconscious and bloody, Zatanna gripped one of her arms. Why the fuck did Mercurio believe she was cut out for this shit?

As footsteps filled her heightened hearing, she groaned softly as four men appeared, two carrying thirty-eights and the other a bat and another tire iron.

"Look what we've got here boys, a lost little lamb," one of them snickered in the dark as she narrowed her eyes, her vampire eyes seeing them clearly as day. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Give me Mercurio's money and the Astrolite," she spat as her throat burned with the familiar blood thirst. It was dark so they wouldn't know…

_**Drink…** _

Zatanna squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the Beast as the man she assumed was Dennis threatened to put bullets through her face. As the need for blood, mixed with her anger clouded her mind, her eyes flashed open. " _Give me the money and the Astrolite!_ "

A moment of silence passed before the sounds of feet shuffling and two men left the room whilst the other two remained, in a trance like stare. Another buzz in the back of her mind, followed by the increasing desire for blood made Zatanna lunge at the two men, drinking their blood eagerly before dropping them to the floor. They were unconscious and most importantly alive as the other two returned, one holding a small package and the other an envelope full of money.

"Is there anythin' else we can get ya?" one asked in a monotone as Zatanna grabbed one of the thirty-eights, the Astrolite and the money.

" _No_ ," she answered briefly, feeling the buzz again. " _Forget you ever saw me_."

"Yes ma'am."

Zatanna was still freaked out by the whole thing as she left the beach house. Not noticing two figures hiding in the shadows, watching her carefully and curiously.

**oOo**

Okay, something was definitely going on.

Somehow, Zatanna made the receptionist behind the counter at the medical office allow her to pass through, exactly like she convinced the guy to go into the alley with her and those two men bring her the things she needed.

 _Why didn't I ask Jack about these things?_ Zatanna wondered as she walked passed a room, hearing the sounds of groaning and a flash of pain ran through her stomach. Wincing, she clutched her stomach before opening the door, finding a girl with short scarlet red hair and glasses groaning on a bed, blood seeping through her shirt.

"Uh…please…get a doctor," she moaned in pain. "Can someone call my grandmother…please?"

Zatanna continued to hold her stomach, feeling her pain as if it were her own as she recalled something Mercurio mentioned.

_Vampire blood….heals me faster…_

"Stay with me, I can save you," Zatanna told her quickly, shutting the door and finding a small knife on the counter. Desperately, she grabbed it and slashed her wrist, her blood pooling out as she rushed over. "Drink my blood."

Zatanna pressed her bleeding wrist to the girl's mouth and she drank it eagerly, slowly the pain disappearing on both of them. Zatanna retracted her wrist and the cut began healing automatically. She wiped the blood on the bed as the girl moaned, feeling the pain disappear as her injuries healed themselves.

"You alright?" Zatanna asked her hesitantly, wondering if it worked or she just fucked up on something.

"You…Wha—Who…wh-who are you? What did you do? What did you do to me?" she whispered in shock and Zatanna realised she did something wrong.

Fearing she violated the Masquerade, she felt the familiar buzz creep into the back of her mind as she focused on the girl's dazed eyes. " _I simply wanted to help. Forget I was ever here_."

The girl's eyes fluttered shut as she fell unconscious without another word. Zatanna let out a breath she had been holding before quickly leaving the room. It took her a moment to remember what she was here for before she snuck into the medical supplies and grabbed three bottles of morphine and some syringes.

As she began leaving the clinic, she took one last look at the door that led to the girl on her way past. The reality of the situation sunk in but…she wasn't afraid. Instead, she felt like she touched her humanity once more, something that put a smile on her face.

**oOo**

She looked at Mercurio's unmoving body and rolled her eyes. "Did you die on me, (idiot?)" she asked, poking his side and Mercurio groaned at her touch. "I brought you morphine, hold still," she told him before grabbing the needle, feeling it up with the pain killer and injecting it into Mercurio's arm.

He let out a sigh of relief as it began kicking in. "Oh sweet mother of joy…"

"I got the Astrolite," Zatanna informed him, showing him the small package and he looked at it. Rolling her eyes, she also presented the envelope before putting it on the floor. "And your money."

"Yeah? Didja waste those sons of bitches?" he asked and Zatanna nodded, leaving out the part that she only killed one, the others were unconscious or in a trance.

"What's the story with this Astrolite?" she asked curiously, crouching and studying his expression. He was looking better than before, hopefully the same could be said for that girl earlier.

"That Astrolite…twice as powerful as TNT. Instant demolition. Be on the other side of the world when you engage that trigger," he explained, no longer grimacing in pain, indicating that the drugs were working. "You need to make some place disappear – a warehouse. Looks to be a Sabbat interest."

This obviously was the trial LaCroix wanted her to complete, despite it not being in her best interests. With a tired sigh, she looked at the time on the clock hanging on the wall. It was midnight, still a couple hours before sunrise.

"How do I find this place then? I don't exactly have much time left," she pointed her head at the clock and Mercurio understood at how pressed for time they truly were.

"Well, there's a guy. I never met him, but I heard a lot about him. His name is Tung, Bertram Tung. He's one of o' types. If there's anyone who knows more than me about this city, it's him. Unfortunately, Tung's hiding out at the moment."

Zatanna let out an irritated growl. "(Of course, this would be too fucking simple,)" she grumbled in Italian, making Mercurio blink in confusion. "Is there any specific reason why he's lying low?"

"One word: Therese. Word is Therese and Tung are feuding – I don't know the details. My take's that Tung thinks he's about to get whacked, so he's gone underground till Therese calls it off," he shrugged his shoulders. "If you wanna put that warehouse into orbit anytime soon, you're gonna have to get Therese to call off the feud."

Sighing tiredly, seeing she had no other options, Zatanna stood up and flashed Mercurio a small smile. "Thanks for the info, hope you get better."

"I don't got your name," he pointed out and she felt the corners of her lips twitch in amusement as she reached for the door, opening it and looking back him.

"Ible, Zatanna Ible," she answered before leaving the room, closing the door with a firm shut.

* * *

**Song: Masquerade by Ashley Tisdale**

 


	3. Chapter Two - Again

**Chapter Two:**

**Again**

_We're going to have a lot of fun with this one – Sabbat._

**Day Four…**

**Location: Downtown**

She should have expected it to be honest. After all, Zatanna _did_ blow up their warehouse, killed quite a few of their men. Obviously the Sabbat weren't too pleased with her.

Well, they could take a fucking hike.

As she slowly came to, hearing the raspy voices that no doubt belonged to her captors, her mind was clouded.

"Let's drain her," one suggested eagerly, Zatanna slowly opened her eyes and found her vision blurry from the blow to the head.

"Let's just stake her and leave her for the sunrise."

The one in the dark blouse grinned at her, eyes full of lust. "We're going to have a lot of fun with this one," he reached down and grabbed her neck, lifting Zatanna up into the air with ease. "Think you could blow up our warehouse and get away with it? Huh, Lick?"

"Obviously," Zatanna spat, glaring at him in the eye with a fire to hers. "That's why it's in fucking ruins."

His eyes narrowed and he growled, throwing her at a wall roughly, making her back collide with the bricks and creating a small dent. The action knocked the wind out of her and she gasped, holding her stomach with one arm as she looked up. "Camarilla fuck!" he cursed out at her.

Fear filled her body as she shook slightly. Zatanna had no clue on what the Sabbat thugs were planning to do with her but from what she could gather, it wasn't pretty.

" _Stay_ ," Zatanna whispered, feeling some strength come to her. " _Away!_ "

The Sabbat froze momentarily before snickering, the trance no working on them as it had with many others. Shock and more fear crept into her; somehow that little trick was all she had. If that was useless…then she was really screwed.

"That little mind trick of yours ain't gonna work, Warlock," he sneered at her, the other two cackling as he reached out for her. A gun shot filled the air, followed by the Sabbat falling to the ground slightly, a bullet hole through his cheek. "Son of a bitch."

Zatanna's eyes snapped over to her saviour and, much to her surprise, found it was the same man from back in the theatre a couple of nights ago. He had always seemed to rescue her.

"Leave," he ordered, pointing a gun at the Sabbat with a hard gaze that made Zatanna want to bend to his will.

"There's three of us, Rodriguez,"

"Yeah, what are ya gonna do?"

The man, Rodriguez, simply patted the grenade strapped to his belt, no words needed for the threat was evident. If Zatanna still had a heartbeat, no doubt it would be beating in wildly against her chest.

"This ain't over," the Sabbat warned and turned to Zatanna, his red eyes glaring at her. "We'll find you," he turned back to Rodriguez. "You too, Rodriguez. You're both dead, nobody messes with the Sabbat and lives."

Rodriguez wasn't interest in the Sabbat's threats. "Keep moving," he ordered them and they slowly skulked away. He moved his gaze from the retreating Sabbat to Zatanna, helping her up. "Trouble sure seems to like you."

"Unfortunately, it's actually become stalkerish now," Zatanna grumbled, rubbed her neck and flinched as the Sabbat tried to strike, only stopped by Rodriguez's gun pressed against the Sabbat's stomach.

"Good effort," he pulled the trigger, shooting the Sabbat and turning him into ashes. "Execution needs a little work. You look like shit."

Zatanna turned her gaze away from the pile of ashes, taking a better look at the man who has saved her not once, but twice from a second death. "Thanks…again for saving me."

"Like I said, trouble seems to like you. Can't help but keep you from it," he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Name's Nines."

"Zatanna Ible," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look, I had everything under control."

Nines snorted, looking at her with amusement. "Really? From where I was standing you looked like you were screwed. You didn't even fight back," he pointed out and shook his head in disbelief. "I knew Tremere weren't strong—"

"What did you just call me?" Zatanna asked a little more hostile than she would have liked; especially since the man _did_ save her.

He raised an eyebrow at her tone of voice but didn't point it out. "That's the name of your clan. You," he frowned, looking at her with sadness flickering through his eyes. "You didn't know?"

"I've been left in the dark since I got bit," Zatanna replied, looking away from his blue eyes. "No one's told me jack. (I hate this,)" she murmured the last part quietly in Italian.

Nines surprised her with a soft smile. "(I get it,)" his Italian was a little roughish, but fluent nether less. Zatanna looked at him in awe, her eyes searching his for any hint of deception. All she found was burdened eyes filled with passion, anger and guilt. "(I know what it is like to have no one around to teach you, to educate you.)"

"Your sire was also killed."

"He was."

Zatanna's eyes softened and her hands dropped to her sides. "Great, you save me out of pity," she muttered bitterly and turned to leave when he grabbed her shoulder. Zatanna flinched and he withdrew his hand, frowning at her reaction.

"You alright?" he asked, the concern in his voice made her chest tighten with guilt for her reaction to his touch.

Zatanna nodded, stepping away and flashing him an apologetic smile. "Last time a guy touched me…well, this happened," she gestured to herself and Nines chuckled, understanding her reason without asking anything.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but you can't fight with the way you are now," Nines pointed out rather bluntly. "No offense."

"Some taken."

He shook his head, trying to hide the smile but it was already on his face. "Why don't you pay me a visit to the Last Round. Maybe I could show you a few moves so you _don't_ get yourself killed."

Zatanna scoffed. "Didn't you just hear those Sabbat? I blew up their warehouse," she reminded him and saw the raised brow before sighing. "Fine, but I have to go see LaCroix first."

Zatanna didn't miss the obvious resentment in Nines's at the mention of LaCroix and wondered what the story was. Maybe she could convince him to tell her later.

Nines's clenched his jaw and stiffly nodded. "Better go then," he said and Zatanna gave him and awkward smile before walking away. "Hey, Zap!"

Frowning, Zatanna turned and realised he was referring to her. His face no longer held the resentment he once wore, but his eyes still held a bit of it in them.

"You might want to learn to use that blood magic of yours, could save your life," he offered and she continued to walk away.

**oOo**

**Day Four…**

**Location: LaCroix Foundation Tower**

For some reason, Nines's last words really stuck to her mind. Obviously, there no doubt in her mind that she was a shit fighter; it still amazed her how she managed to get out of that warehouse alive.

The elevator let out a _ching_ , signalling that she had arrived at the penthouse floor and the doors opened. Zatanna let out a sigh before walking out of the small, cramped space and opened the doors, finding LaCroix.

He was sitting at his desk, a stone looking expression planted on his face with that giant man behind him, silent as usual. Telling herself to get this over and done with as soon as possible, she began slowly walking towards him.

"There you are," LaCroix stated, finally acknowledging her presence. "I was informed of your presence in the building. Since you're here, I'll take the liberty of assuming you've destroyed the warehouse…" his eyes studied her carefully. "This is correct, yes?"

"Yes that is—" Zatanna, much to her displeasure, was cut off by LaCroix who simply nodded.

"Most excellent," he said, trying to make it sound like a praise but it felt like the exact opposite to her. "I had no doubt you'd prove my decision a prudent one. I trust you encountered no…impediments to your progress on account of my personnel?"

_This man sure loves to hear his own voice,_ a dry thought passed through her mind but Zatanna managed to keep a straight face. "None. None at all."

" _That_ ," he emphasised. "Is the answer I like to hear. You've done well, circumstances being what they were. I will admit, not many in your…position would have overcome such a trial. But don't misunderstand me; it was no fool's errand."

Although she knew better than to play with fire, Zatanna could help but not let the insult slide. "It never crossed my mind, Mr LaCroix. In fact, any praise from you would be none at all."

LaCroix didn't react as she had hoped, instead of anger crossing his face, it was slight amusement. "You may yet prove to be a genuine asset. Tell me, what would you say to doing a bit of reconnaissance for me?"

"Under most circumstances, I would say, 'yes sir,'" Zatanna informed him and held up her hand as she was not finished yet, much to the Prince's displeasure. "But considering I almost got _killed_ by some Sabbat thugs who weren't too happy for my act in blowing up their warehouse, not to mention that I can't fight to save my goddamn life, I'll have to decline."

A dangerous look passed through LaCroix's eyes as he leaned forward, eyeing her carefully. "May I remind you, _fledgling_ ," he spat the name as if it were full of acid. "That you are still undergoing trials."

"Need I remind you, _sir_ ," she mirrored his tone. "That I understand fully of my situation but I still need to know some things before I blindly go on another insane job."

They both studied each other quietly; a silent staring contest had been initiated. Neither of them were going to back down, LaCroix was used to having others submit to him while Zatanna used to be a lawyer; she's used to this kind of egotistical treatment men gave her.

"I need to learn about my clan, about who I've 'supposedly,' become," she added quietly and LaCroix nodded, the contest over as he leaned back into his chair. Zatanna internally sighed in relief while he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Then may I offer you a suggestion; go and see the Tremere Primogen. He will no doubt instruct you and report to me when he had deemed you educated," he said in a dismissive tone. Zatanna nodded, turning on her heel and walking out of the building.

**oOo**

**Day Four…**

**Location: The Last Round Bar**

Zatanna could feel the eyes on her as she walked in, already feeling slightly out of place as the heavy metal music played throughout the bar. Taking a deep breath, she began walking over to the stairs when a dark skinned man stopped her in her tracks.

He looked at her with suspicion, his eyes trailing up and down her body while his arms were crossed over his chest. "Well, if it ain't the talk of the town; poster child for the Camarilla benevolence. What does the prince have his little bitch doin' today?"

Zatanna glared at him, not in the mood to deal with another asshole tonight. "Funny. Is Nine Rodriguez around here?" she asked in curtly.

"Nines is expecting you. Have some manners and don't wear out your welcome. I'm Skelter. Act up again and I'll be the one showing your ashes to the door," he warned her, standing taller to intimidate her.

Zatanna looked at him with angry eyes. "One thing you should learn, _Skelter_ ," she hissed at him, poking him hard in the chest. "Don't piss of an Italian if you want to keep your sad excuse of a male genital. Do I make myself clear?"

Before Skelter could even reply, a familiar red neck voice interrupted them. "Skelter, ya losin' your touch if ya getting' yelled at by a woman," Jack smirked, appearing halfway down the stairs. "Well look who's back from Santa Monica. How was it kiddo?"

"I didn't get much time to sight-see," she answered, following him up the stairs to the second floor of the bar. It was empty, except for Nines leaning against a wall with his hands in his pocket, a look of deep thought planted on his face.

Jack chuckled. "I can't imagine you did. Probably too busy getting' pushed around by every vampire with a week of seniority over you, am I right?"

"Not to mention Sabbat almost killing her," Nines added, looking at her as they approached him. "What were you thinking, using Domination discipline over them?"

Zatanna rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Could I just point out again, that _I've been left in the dark_! How the hell am I supposed to know anything?"

Jack shook his head. "Kiddo, didn't you learn anything that I taught ya?"

"I learned that you're a shit teacher."

Nines laughed and Jack had an amused look on his face while Zatanna just shook her head at the pair. She hadn't been in the bar for five minutes and she already liked it better than fucking LaCroix's penthouse.

"Let's get back on track here," she reminded the pair, looking at Nines. "You promised to teach me how to fight."

He nodded, the amusement gone and his eyes turned serious. "Before we get to that, here's what I got to tell you – and so you know, I don't lecture, I don't rap, I'm no bureaucrat."

"(But you rhyme,)" Zatanna smirked and he returned the gesture.

"(Yeah, I rhyme,)" he answered before shaking his head. "I'm just a guy out of nowhere cam to be involved in something five-hundred times bigger than you and me."

"Go on," she nodded.

"You got a right to know the score. The Camarilla – this is the short of it. They operate a lot like a pyramid scheme. There's a bunch of these old timers at the top, with God only knows what plots in mind. They lose their power, they die. They sired more to carry out their plans, and lookin' for a little power, then those Kindred sired for their own schemes and so on and on and on – it hurts my head just thinkin' about the mess. What works out is to this: only a few people at the top have any real power."

Zatanna frowned in confusion. "Isn't the prince the leader of the Camarilla?" she asked curiously, seeing as how that was the impression she got off the guy.

"LaCroix? Shit…" he shook his head. "LaCroix's just the guy who backstabbed and wheeled and dealed his way into becoming king son of a bitch of all local Camarilla. Him and any o' the traitors that sided with the Cam want power here, they'll get what's due."

"So what are you all about?" she asked, moving towards one of the tables and taking a seat since she was tired of standing on her feet. Nines joined her, Jack leaving them alone to discuss some things privately.

"I learned the way of this world during the depression. Bunch of old, rich bastards screwed the country, but did they suffer?" he asked in a bitter tone. "No, the little people suffered. You can't trust the people at the top. The world'd be a better place without 'em. All you can do is get a group of people together who aren't assholes, find a place to put your feet up, and make some examples of the quote-unquote elite to keep the res the hell out. Everyone's an equal here, the same thing this country used to be about. That's what LA has been, an Anarch Free State."

Zatanna shook her head. "The hell is an Anarch Free State?"

"The Camarilla was kicked out on their ass a long time ago. We, the anarchs, didn't want to play their politics any more. Now LaCroix and crew pop in like they never left – uh-uh, no goddamn way! Their laws don't apply to us."

"Not too much of a fan of the guy huh?"

Nines snorted. "LaCroix represents everything I hate – the Camarilla, stuck-up aristocrats, rich businessmen, crooked politicians—"

"What about a DA?" she asked him curiously and he raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't have taken you as a DA, you don't seem to have the patience or the manners for one," he commented, taking a double look at her.

Zatanna rolled her eyes, leaning an elbow on the table. "I have patience for only certain types of people," her eyes stared at the table for a second, remembering her last case. "(I understand how unfair law systems can be.)"

She took a look at the time by the watch on Nines's wrist before sighing. "I should head back; I don't exactly want to leave this world dying of a sun tan."

"Alright, before you leave though, here's what I tell all the new blood: One, you get careless, that blood'll make you into a monster – but you rampage 'round here you get put down. Two, don't kill when you feed – there's no reason to. In this city, there's lots of ways to stake the Beast without leaving a trail of dead. Three, the Camarilla's full o' shit. Four, watch your back, always," he gave her a look. "And lastly, learn how to fight, cuz a speech ain't gonna save your ass when you're starin' down the barrel of a shotgun. In your case, you need it more than others."

Zatanna rolled her eyes, standing up and pursing her lips at him. "You'll never let me live that down, won't you?"

Nines smirked, a guilt free kind of one that made a small spark run through the back of her spine. When he smiled, she had to admit he was attractive. "(Can't blame a man for using it at every opportunity,)" he shrugged. "You comin' back here tomorrow?"

Zatanna felt her own smirk rise. "Already missing me?" she joked and he laughed.

"Like a bad disease."

"Gee, Nines, you _sure_ know how to make a girl feel special. Remind me to never represent your ass when you're in trouble."

Jack's laughter could be heard from downstairs, erupting two equally paired grins from the Brujah and the Tremere. "At your suggestion and a certain letter, I'm going to see the Tremere Primogen. Hopefully he can teach me a couple of things."

"Good, hate having to keep saving your ass," his eyes softened briefly. "Once you've finished that and square thing with LaCroix, don't give that son of a bitch the time o' night. I got my eye on you, Zap."

"Sounds stalkerish," Zatanna said in mock shutter before walking back downstairs, running into Jack on her way out.

"Hey kiddo, you ever need some help then ol' Jack here can lend ya a few hands," he reminded her and she smiled softly at him, touched by his offer.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," she replied before exiting out of the Last Round.

* * *

**Song: Again by Yui**

 


	4. Chapter Three- Magia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, this is just me transferring this fic over to this site. So there's noticible changes in later chapters about things. Enjoy.

**Chapter Three:**

**Magia**

**Day Five…**

**Location: Tremere Chantry, Downtown**

As soon as she stepped through the front doors, an odd sense of peace and calm befell her mind and body. It felt weird and made Zatanna feel violated as she walked down the long corridor, the wallpaper, the floor…everything about the place screamed, 'HIGH CLASS,' to her.

At the end of the hall, after turning left, Zatanna found double doors, leading into a grand room with books everywhere, red velvet love seats, a grand coffee table and a giant fire place…with a bald man in front of the burning wood. His red eyes were hidden behind round glasses, a red coat draped over his shoulders as he looked at her in interest.

"Greetings, neonate. Might I assume you received my invitation?" he asked and Zatanna nodded.

"My apologises for not coming sooner, I had…prior engagements," she informed him and he waved it away.

"No matter, I have been looking forward to meeting you since your near execution."

Zatanna rubbed her arms awkwardly. "I assume you are…"

"Strauss. Maximillian Strauss. I am the regent of this chantry. Welcome," he offered his hand and she shook it lightly before quickly withdrawing it back to her side.

"Thanks," she murmured, taking a better look at her surroundings. "What is this place?"

"Ah, yes…forgive me," he apologised, remembering the small detail of how she came into the Kindred world. "I forget that you were not Embraced within the pyramid. We share the same blood, you and I, but there is much you have yet to learn about our clan."

"You're of the Tremere clan," she stated, recalling what LaCroix briefly told her and what she could gather of her own, rather limited, knowledge.

"Yes, this new life in which you find yourself undoubtedly seems strange. I'm sure you have many questions, young one. I will answer those which I am able."

Zatanna sighed in relief. "(It's about time,)" she said, forgetting that she was no longer speaking English. Realizing her mistake, she quickly gave him an apologetic smile before clearing her throat. "What is a, 'chantry,'?"

"A chantry is a local gathering place for those of the Tremere clan. I live here, as do apprentices from time to time."

"What did you mean, 'Embraced within the pyramid,'?" she asked him, recalling that stuck out to her like a sore thumb.

"The pyramid is the social structure of our clan, with each level advancement watched over by the next," he explained and Zatanna inwardly rolled her eyes. What was with everyone and a damn pyramid structure? "There are apprentices here at the chantry who are my charges, and I have a lord who watches over me and other local regents, and so on."

"In most cases, Tremere are _very_ selective about who they Embrace and how it is done. There are traditions and laws that we adhere to, so the circumstances of your Embrace were, let us say…." He struggled to find the right word. "Unconventional. Therefore, you are 'outside,' the pyramid."

Zatanna nodded, getting a rough understanding of what he was saying. "I'm not going to lie, I'm not interested in this whole 'pyramid,' thing you have got going on. I just need someone to teach me on how to use my…powers," she explained what had occurred during her little trip to Santa Monica and how it worked on the humans but failed with the Sabbat.

Strauss nodded, listening and never interrupting her until she finished. He leaned back on the opposite love seat and watched her carefully, a thoughtful look on his face. "What you are describing, young one, was the Domination discipline. Our clan are known to be quite powerful in that area, along with the Ventures. There is no doubt in my mind that you require further instruction with our ways. And if it is indeed in Prince LaCroix's best interest that you require such knowledge. Then, it will be my honour in instructing you."

"Thank you," she smiled warmly for the first time in ages.

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-five…**

**Location: Tremere Chantry, Downtown**

For once in her life, Zatanna felt like she finally had power. Had the power to right the wrongs of overs, to stand up for the weak…and control her own fate. After twenty, gruelling days under Strauss's teachings and guidance, Zatanna had a enough knowledge and control of her blood magic to confidently take down anyone if she wished to.

"You have been a valid, if not, successful student these past days," Strauss complimented her, placing a hand on her shoulder as they stood out the front of the Tremere Chantry. "Consider this place your home if you ever need it and my knowledge at your disposal."

"Thank you again, master," she bowed slightly at the waist before walking out of the garden and onto the pavement. Although she was supposed to report to LaCroix as soon as she was done, the idea of catching up with Jack seemed more appealing to her.

It was the only place she felt welcomed to since she was forced into this new life anyway.

As she climbed up the stairs, the furious pale blue eyes of a scarlet hair woman met hers. "Sabbat chase you in here, Cammy?" she sneered at her and Zatanna was taken back with her sudden attitude.

"Why do you ask? Not like it happened anyway for your information," Zatanna replied calmly, although she doubted that would remain for long.

"Heard Nines saved your ass again. You think LaCroix would've stopped counting his money long enough to get your back, jack?"

Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest, not liking where this was going one bit. Her aura shone out to her, fiery red all over the place. From her teachings with Strauss, she recalled red being anger or passion. By this woman's attitude, anger stood out more as the likely answer. "I could've handled those incidents; it wasn't his problem to solve."

She snorted bitterly, not believing her one bit. "If it hadn't been for Nines calling the prince out in that courtroom," she rolled her eyes, looking at Zatanna in disgust. "Looks like things worked out for LaCroix anyway – got himself a new errand girl out of it."

Anger flashed through Zatanna's eyes as she clenched her fists. "The fuck is your problem anyway?"

"You want to know what my problem is? YOU are my goddamn problem. Anyone who would lay it down for some cape in an ivory tower deserves what they get," she sneered in disgust, poking Zatanna in the chest roughly, no longer hiding her resentment for Zatanna.

Zatanna grabbed her finger, her eyes glowing yellow dangerously. "I decide my own fate," she told her in a harsh tone, barely controlling her anger and she shoved Zatanna away, making her fly a good few feet away from her and onto her ass.

"Yeah? By sleeping with that fuckin' prick?" she challenged and just as Zatanna was about to lunge at her, a hand held her back as Nines stepped in front of the woman.

"Let me go!" Zatanna screamed, trying to break free of her captor but it was no use against their strength. "(I'll fucking put that whore in her place when I shove my size five foot up her ass!)"

"If ya want to insult someone, make sure ya speak English," Jack's irritated voice said loudly as she continued to glare at the woman. She mirrored Zatanna's look while Nines sighed tiredly.

"Damsel, cut the crap. It's no use starting a fight that you'll easily win," Nines told her and Zatanna snarled at him.

"(You saying I still can't fight?)" she demanded from him, no longer caring if she wasn't speaking English. As far as she could tell, he was the only one who spoke her language and understood it anyway.

"(Against Damsel it's a losing fight,)" he explained in a calm tone that just pissed her off even further. "(Besides, wouldn't want your face to get messed up by an angry female Brujah.)"

"(Go fuck yourself,)"

"If you two are done, can we switch to a language _everyone_ understands?" Jack snapped, forcing the two of them to change their current language. Damsel glared at Zatanna once more before storming downstairs and slamming the bar front door shut. Nines sighed tiredly as Jack helped Zatanna up onto her feet.

"Why did you provoke her?" Nines asked her, crossing his arms over his chest and Zatanna looked at him in outrage.

" _I_ provoked her?" she asked in disbelief. "That bitch started it!"

"Watch who you're calling a bitch," Nines warned her, a dangerous look passing through his eyes.

For some reason, it hurt Zatanna to see him taking her side, not taking into account that it was actually Damsel who started the fight in the first place. "Wow, for all your talk about the little people, you don't seem to take into account the difference between the truth and your biased opinion," she said curtly before turning her attention to Jack. "I came to talk to you, but I can see that I'm not longer welcomed here."

Jack's eyes held a look of understanding. "Give me your address, I'll stop by later."

She handed him the address to the haven in Downtown before turning on her heel and leaving the bar, not even looking at Nines anymore.

**oOo**

Nines watched her go before looking away, finding Jack giving him a look of disapproval. "What?"

"I sometimes wonder 'bout whether or not ya got a brain in that skull of yours," Jack shook his head at the Anarch leader. "That kid's got the perfect position for our plan, she's in with LaCroix and she's a Tremere."

"What's your point?"

"We _need_ her."

Nines took that into account as his friend walked downstairs, no doubt going to meet up with the new blood. A sigh escaped his lips as he tried to calm himself down, no use gettin' worked up over nothin' and lettin' the Beast run loose.

He went downstairs as well and went to the bar, grabbing his usual from the bar and throwing that down his throat. As he ordered a second one, this time drinking it slowly, he mauled over Jack's words.

_She's in with LaCroix and she's a Tremere…_

_We need her…_

_He's right,_ he sighed irritably, much to his displeasure. Zatanna seemed like a nice girl, from the times he's met her when her life wasn't in danger. When he first saw her at the execution of her sire, he saw the fire burning in her eyes, the look of confusion and outrage at what had happened to her. He knew then that she was going to be put to death for someone that was never her choice.

The bar door opened, revealing a slightly calmer Damsel who immediately spotted Nines sitting at the bar. "Thought Cammy would've stuck around."

"Feeling guilty?" he asked her and saw that she was; now he felt like an idiot. He accused Zatanna of starting the fight but, judging from Damsel's body expression, she was innocent all along.

"Look, I want to apologise to her. Is she still here?" Damsel asked and Nines shook his head, taking a couple of sips from his Scotch.

"Left about a couple of minutes ago with Jack. Said she needed to talk with him," he answered, feeling guilty about the way he handled things. Despite her more or less, warm personality for a Tremere, Nines only briefly knew the girl. It was logical that he would take Damsel's side.

"Maybe I can catch up with them," Damsel said, a little bit of hope hidden in her voice and Nines shook his head, looking at her.

"Bad idea, she's still pretty pissed at you."

Damsel raised an eyebrow, taking a better look at her friend before smirking at him. "Looks like I'm not the only one who fought with Cammy tonight."

Nines could only agree.

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-six…**

**Location: The Elizabeth Dane**

Zatanna Ible was a woman who held grudges, she would admit it. When someone's pissed her off or hurt her, then she'll stay angry at them for long periods of time. It was a simple fact.

She was still stewing in anger as she crept along the shadows of the cargo ship, making sure to stay out of sight. She had already gotten the police report and the cargo sheet. Now all she needed to do was take a closer look at the Ankaran Sarcophagus before leaving the bloodied ship and reporting her findings to LaCroix.

As a guard walked dangerously close to her position against a metal container, Zatanna's eyes found the guards as she felt the buzz in the back of her head. " _Go and check the front of the ship_ ," she whispered softly, knowing the trance had worked as he frowned.

"I'm going to go and check the front of the ship," he told his partner in a trance like tone. "In case we missed anything."

"Whatever, just don't be too long. This place gives me the creeps," his partner replied, looking away as the guard left the area. Zatanna waited a few more moments before quietly moving closer towards the large broken crate, revealing the Ankaran Sarcophagus.

Zatanna stepped closer, running her hands along the smooth, stone surface that made up the sarcophagus. Some kind of ancient inscriptions were written along the sides and the rims, a large circle in the middle of the sarcophagus.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Zatanna quickly spun around, finding the guard looking at her in alarm, pointing a gun straight at her. As there was blood along the surface and floor of the cargo hold, Zatanna felt her fingers dance slightly in the air beside her until LaCroix's voice filled her mind.

_You must not kill anyone._

" _Come here_ ," Zatanna ordered, looking at the scared guard in the eye. A flash of red passed through his eyes before he relaxed, walking over to her in a zombie like state. Taking his face into her hands, she pressed his forehead against her, feeling the draining of blood and the buzz in the back of her mind. " _You will forget I was ever here. There was no woman on the ship, in this place tonight. Everything went smoothly_."

"I never saw anyone…here tonight…no women on ship at all…everything…went smoothly," he replied in a monotone voice, signalling to Zatanna that it had worked.

" _Close your eyes for one minute, when you reopen them, resume your duties,_ " she instructed him, releasing her grip on his face and taking a step back, watching him close his eyes.

As soon as his line of sight was closed, she dashed out of the cargo hold, sneaking past the guards before heading towards the deck. Her ears picked up sounds of footsteps coming closer.

Zatanna glanced down the railing, seeing her boat further away from the currents and silently cursing LaCroix, before pushing herself off of the railing and diving into the cold, dark water.

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-six…**

**Location: Tremere Chantry, Downtown**

As Zatanna dressed herself in the white blouse and long black cuff pants, her mind was wandering on her lack of clothing. Now, she could always order online for more clothing, but that might take too long. It's not like there were many clothing stores opened at late hours of the night.

A soft knock at the door broke her from her thoughts, opening slightly and revealing one of the many apprentices dressed in black robes, covering their face. "Regent Strauss would like to see you," a soft voice informed her and she nodded.

"Show me the way then," Zatanna gestured, leaving the room and following the hidden apprentice. It still freaked her out, seeing them like this and she often found herself wondering if she had drank the blood of the Elders, would she have turned out like them?

"Ah, neonate, I trust the clothes fit you well," Strauss observed as Zatanna walked into the drawing room, the apprentice leaving them be. "Your clothes shall be delivered to your haven."

"Thank you," Zatanna bowed her head slightly in thanks and respect.

"Is there something on your mind, little neonate?" Strauss asked, seeing the conflict in Zatanna's eyes. She looked at him, betraying her surprise on her face before looking away briefly.

"No, master," Zatanna lied and before he could question further, she smiled brightly at him. "Thank you for everything, I'll try and visit as much as I can."

Instead of questioning her further like he would have, Strauss simply nodded and watched her leave the room and no doubt the chantry. She didn't say a word as she left the place, walking straight home since it would no doubt be sunrise soon. She'll deal with LaCroix in evening, Zatanna needed to get her head on straight first.

As she turned the corner onto the street where the haven was, her eyes found something she wasn't ready to deal with as Nines stood on the steps outside of the apartment complex.

Feeling eyes on him, Nines looked over and saw her standing there, no doubt taking in her 'new,' look. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Zatanna walked over and past him, ignoring him completely.

"I need to talk to you," Nines spoke and Zatanna bit her bottom lip in frustration.

"Everyone does these days," she muttered, entering through the front door and heading up the stairs. "What makes you any different than the others?"

"'Cause I came to apologise."

Zatanna paused on the floor they were on, her floor and took a better look at him. His eyes did have a sincere apology in them but she couldn't rely on her eyes alone. Blinking once, she looked through his aura and saw the green, light blue and the usual red along with flickers of gold.

Blinking the aura away, she looked at his face. "How'd you find out where I lived?"

"Jack gave me the address," he answered with a shrug and Zatanna silently made a note to talk to her 'adopted,' sire. "Look, the shit that went down…I shouldn't have said those things."

"Just stop, I get it," Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest. "At least I know the _true_ score now," she turned and walked down the hall, stopping at the end and reached for her keys when Nines slammed his hand on the door, next to her.

"(That's not what I meant at all and you know it,)" he said quietly, forcing Zatanna to turn around and nearly jump at how close his face was to hers. She looked into his eyes before feeling her gaze flicker to his lips. The desire to reach over and kiss him was alien to her, something that she shouldn't be wanting. After all, she came into this world _through_ a sexual vehicle, she should know better than to get involved with vampires. "(Damsel doesn't get mad without a reason. When I saw the two of you, instinctively I went to her side without thinking and I hurt you. I'm sorry, kid.)"

Zatanna opened her mouth to say something when her alarm went off on her phone. Quickly digging for it, she saw it was the alarm saying sunrise was almost here. "Shit," she muttered, turning and unlocking the door and walking in, looking back at Nines. "Are you coming in?"

"Am I allowed in?"

"Fine, stay there and burn," she shrugged, walking over to her curtains and closing them shut as she heard the front door close. She knew he was in the small apartment since his scent of metal, pinewood and cigarette filled her heightened senses. "Make yourself at home."

Zatanna turned from the windows and glanced at him briefly, seeing him heading to her kitchen and looking in the fridge, no doubt finding her blood packs. She still felt sick at her new diet, it was wrong and inhumane but she needed it to survive. Much to her displeasure.

"What's with the new clothes?" he asked curiously, grabbing two cups and pouring the blood pack into them.

Zatanna glanced down at them briefly before heading to the laptop and logging on to Myers online. "My old ones got wet from my little swimming excursion earlier."

She heard movements and saw a cup being placed beside her as she shopped online. A few moments later, the TV went on with Nines silenced for a while, watching a reply of the news. While he was distracted, Zatanna could finally dwell on her earlier thoughts.

She wanted to kiss Nines.

It was as simple as that.

But then again, it wasn't. Zatanna felt nothing romantic towards the Brujah, except noting he was handsome and probably made any girl's night wild and pleasurable. Her mind then turned to darker things, her and Nines….on the bed…

"(Stop it,)" she growled lowly to herself, shaking her head and accidentally drawing the attention of her guest.

"Everything alright?" Nines asked her and Zatanna sighed tiredly.

"Everything's just fucking great."

* * *

**Song: Magia by Kalafina**


	5. Chapter Four - Magnet

**Chapter Four:**

**Magnet**

**Day Twenty-seven…**

**Location: Downtown Haven**

Zatanna and Nines began walking down stairs, chatting happily with each other. During the course of the mini sleepover, Nines and Zatanna managed to patch things up, something she enjoyed immensely.

"You coming to the Last Round later?" he asked Zatanna who nodded, reaching the last step and heading towards the front door.

"After I deal with LaCrotch," Zatanna told him, opening the door and stepping out into the cold night. Nines followed her and then tensed behind her. Frowning, she turned to ask him what was wrong when her eyes found a girl with short scarlet red head standing there, looking straight at Zatanna with happy filled eyes. "Can I help you?"

"Hey!" she practically jumped at the chance to speak and then realised her mistake when Nines glared at her. "Please don't blow me off, okay?"

"(Do you know this girl?)" Nines asked her, still keeping his eyes on the girl and Zatanna racked her brain, trying to figure it out.

"(I think I met her back in Santa Monica…)" she murmured and then nodded at the girl who began to babble on like crazy.

"Someone told me I could find you here. I mean, I've been looking all over for you since that night, because I just wanted to…I'm in your debt," she explained and it and finally clicked with Zatanna.

"You're that girl from that clinic," Zatanna snapped her fingers, finally recalling where she had seen this girl.

Smiling, she nodded and continued to speak while Nines looked between the two. "I want to…help you. I owe you my life an…I feel like I need to repay you…"

"What's your name?" Nines stepped in, having Zatanna shoot him an annoyed look to which he ignored.

The girl looked at him briefly, fear flickering through her eyes before looking back at Zatanna. She couldn't blame the girl for being afraid of Nines; the guy scares the shit out of a lot of people.

"I'm Heather, Heather Poe," she paused and looked a little awkward. "I'm not weirding you out or anything, am I?"

Zatanna chuckled bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's hard to do these nights," she said curtly before shaking her head and giving Heather a small smile. "You look much better, I'm glad."

"Only because of you – what you did for me."

Nines narrowed his eyes at Zatanna in suspicion. "(What did you do?)"

"(I saved her life,)" Zatanna replied, looking at him with a calm gaze. "(I found her near death's door and gave her some of my blood since I had heard it had healing properties.)"

Nines groaned, rubbing the bridge between his eyes and shaking his head. Heather looked confused beyond hell and Zatanna frowned at his reaction. Finally, after a few moments, Nines looked at her with a stone face. "(You just made her your ghoul by doing that!)"

"(And that is exactly?)"

"(A human servant.)"

Zatanna swallowed at the revelation, looking at Heather in a new light. Heather, seeing the hesitation in Zatanna's eyes quickly began pleading with her. "I can be useful to you…I'd do anything – just tell me you'll let me help you…let me stay with you…make me feel this way."

"(Oh my god….)" Zatanna covered her mouth slightly, seeing Heather's aura and finding there was sincerity and truth behind the human girl's words. "(What should I do?)"

Nines softened his gaze at her. "(She's not going to leave you alone and she'll probably be killed by another vampire. Do whatever you think makes her safe and doesn't violate the Masquerade.)"

Zatanna took a deep breath and looked at Heather. "Head up to my apartment, I'll…I'll deal with you later."

"Really?" Heather beamed brightly. "I promise you won't regret it! Promise! I'll get you money; I'll get you things…everything! I want to be…important to you."

Zatanna sighed tiredly, shaking her head at Heather. "Don't…just go up there and amuse yourself. I'll be back later."

Heather nodded and headed inside while Zatanna looked down at the ground, suddenly sick again for what she had done. What she did out of her damn habit of helping others turned into someone's sick, twisted game. She hated herself more than ever for it.

Nines saw the look on Zatanna's face and placed a hand on her shoulder, getting the Tremere to look at him. "What's done is done."

"Doesn't make the guilt go away," she shrugged off his hand and ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. "I just ruined a perfectly good life."

"Or made it better," he pointed out and she shook her head.

"I could see it in her aura, she has a pretty good life with her grandmother…and I've completely destroyed that."

Nines ruffled her hair, walking ahead and looking back at her. "Drown your pity in a drink later, my treat."

Zatanna didn't say anything as she watched him disappear down the street before heading off on her own destination.

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-seven…**

**Location: LaCroix Foundation Tower**

"I've said all I need to, for now," LaCroix's voice was picked up by her heightened hearing as she walked out of the elevator. A moment later, the door opened, revealing three men and one woman.

"Master Strauss," Zatanna greeted in surprise and the Tremere Primogen smiled briefly at her before heading to the elevator with the others. She looked back before shaking her head, entering the room, finding LaCroix standing behind his desk.

"I don't have time for a monologue. Give me the…bullet points of what you saw," he sighed tiredly and Zatanna held back an insult, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Everyone on board was massacred. There weren't any survivors," Zatanna answered, recalling the bucket loads of blood and no bodies in sight.

"And the Ankaran Sarcophagus – what did you see?" he pressed further and Zatanna frowned slightly but continued to answer.

"There was blood all over the floor. Handprints indicate it was opened from within."

LaCroix's face was filled with surprise for a brief moment. "Opened?" he questioned but then dismissed it along with masking his emotions. "Let's not jump to conclusion. Give me the manifest and your notes, I'll sort this mess later. You might have noticed when you came in, the parade of malingering mollycoddles filing out."

"Yeah," Zatanna placed her note pad on the table and crossed her arms over her chest. "Who were they?"

"Those were the primogen – this city's clan elders – a worrisome bunch devoted first and foremost to the security of their own skin. Which is why they were here. It seems Alistair Grout, the Malkavian Primogen, has either forgotten HOW to answer his phone….or is missing," he answered in an unimpressed tone. "The Sabbat's appearance has put the primogen on edge. Grout's mansion is in the Hollywood Hills. I need you to pry Grout out of whatever crack he's crawled into and haven him contact us."

"Certainly, is that all?" Zatanna forced herself to say, groaning mentally from the task. Honestly, so far, her encounters with Malkavians haven't been too swell. Therese was a complete nutter, thinking she had a sister called Jeanette who really was her the entire time. After sorting them out, at least Zatanna had found an ally in Jeanette.

"Yes, for the moment," LaCroix regarded her for a moment, an impressed look on his face. "You know, your demeanour thus far bears similar characteristics to those that rise to the top of this organisation. Stay that course."

Zatanna just nodded. "Thank you, sir. About Grout…" she prompted him to continued and LaCroix caught his thoughts.

"Yes, about Grout: as I said, Grout is the Malkavian primogen. His behaviour and home are…eccentric, to say the least. He's developed a paranoid bent lately, so you may have to check under every bed in the place for him."

"I'll go take care of that then," she took a step back and began walking away when LaCroix called out to her once more. She paused in mid-step, glancing over her shoulder at him and finding him studying her.

"When we hear from Grout, you may come back," he informed her, looking at her face now and sat down at his desk. "Until then…"

She didn't say anything as she walked out.

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-seven…**

**Location: Last Round Bar**

Nines stood up as she walked upstairs, greeting Skelter with a nod and finding Damsel with Nines and Jack. By the annoyed look on her face, he could tell something was wrong.

"What's he sendin' you on now?" Nines asked and she rolled her eyes.

"I have to get Grout to contact LaCrotch," she muttered bitterly, ignoring the snickers from Jack and Damsel at her nickname for the Prince and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry I can't stay for long."

Nines glared at the table for a bit before sighing, shaking his head. "Ain't your fault, Zap. Have you talked with Heather yet?"

"No, I was going to head over after stopping here."

"Stay safe," he told her, subconsciously reaching over and grabbing her hand with his. Zatanna looked at the hand in surprise before pulling away and swallowing the emotions hitting her at once.

"I always do," she teased before turning and walking down the stairs.

"Wait, Cammy!" Damsel trailed after her, stopping Zatanna from leaving as she looked at the female Brujah. She wasn't happy or too impressed with Damsel still. "Look, sorry for the way I treated you the other night. It's just with all the shit's been going down lately – and on top of it this plague bearer is getting the CDC's attention – maybe I misjudged you's all I'm saying."

"Plague bearer?" Zatanna frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A plague bearer's a fool that doesn't care who they feed from. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, we can't get sick – but the kine can, and Kindred that feed on them start spreading disease. Enough get sick, it's an epidemic, CDC's in town as we speak," she explained and now Zatanna knew the answer to the men in hazard suits she'd seen walking around lately.

"How'd we get rid of it?" Zatanna asked.

"Seen 'Old Yeller?' May sound cruel, but it's necessary. If someone puts two and two together as to the real cause of an outbreak of blood borne diseases, guess what happens?"

Zatanna felt herself swallowing the dread that rose in her throat. "The Masquerade gets violated."

"If the Camarilla really gives a damn, they'll help us out," Damsel agreed but Zatanna shook her head, snorting lightly at the idea.

"They're worried about other things at the moment," she murmured, recalling what LaCroix told her about the Sabbat problem. "Look, I'll sort it out. Where would I start?"

Damsel gave her a doubtful look. "No offence, Cammy, but I don't think a newbie like you can handle this."

"Then why bring it to me if you don't expect me to personally deal with it?" Zatanna challenged her in her old DA tone when prosecuting the defendant. By the surprise and slightly fear in Damsel's eyes, Zatanna knew she still had the magic touch.

"Fine, one of our boy's ghouls, name's Paul, lives nearby in the Skyeline apartments. Been a stranger lately. Looked like death last time he was here. Said he didn't get bit but…maybe you could get more info out of him."

Zatanna nodded. "I'll go check it out when I get back."

"If Paul's not talking, you might want to start questioning the homeless pop. So many have been dying lately that it takes the city a few days to pick up the bodies," Damsel added and Zatanna waved it off, heading out of the Last Round Bar.

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-seven…**

**Location: Downtown Haven**

Heather beamed when Zatanna walked through the door, sitting right up from the bed. "I was wondering how long you were going to take."

"Look, before you get all _this_ ," she gestured to Heather. "On me, I have to lay down a few rules."

"Whatever you need," Heather purred slightly and Zatanna sighed tiredly.

"You won't be staying with me but with your grandmother. I want you to still have a normal life," she informed her seriously, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared down at her ghoul. "I'll be transferring money to your account so you and your grandmother can move closer while you still attend college."

Heather nodded, pouting slightly at the mention of college. "But I don't want to go to college, I want to serve you all the time!"

"No," Zatanna told her sharply, making the girl fall silent. She quickly cleared her throat, looking at Heather with softer eyes. "What I did to you changed you forever and I'm sorry for that. However, I might need you so I'll grab your number off of you. You will have access to my business bank account in case I need you to buy something. After college you will come here at four and leave around eight. Is that understood?"

"Yes…."

"Zatanna."

Heather smiled warmly, running over to hug her when she hesitated and changed her mind, shaking hands with Zatanna. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down, ever!"

"Go home and tell your grandmother that you got a new job and your transferring over here," she instructed before Heather left the haven, smiling brightly on her way out. Zatanna sighed tiredly, heading over to her bed and collapsing on top.

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-eight…**

**Location: Grout's Mansion, Hollywood Hills**

Zatanna walked through the iron gates, surprised to see Nines walking out of the mansion. "Nines?" she called and he froze, staring at her in surprise and shock.

"You!" he exclaimed and then quickly recovered himself. "What are you doing here?"

There was something not right with him, making Zatanna frown and study him better. "I might ask you the same thing."

"No," he answered immediately and a knot tied up in Zatanna's stomach.

"That wasn't really a yes or no question," she pointed out to him in a wary tone, looking at him suspiciously.

Before she could question him further, Nines gaze shifted away from her briefly before looking back at her. "You should get out of here. This place is bad news. Uh…pardon me," he walked past her, making Zatanna watch his back in disbelief.

' _Pardon me,'? Since when did Nines say things like that?_ Zatanna frowned, blinking and studying his aura. It was off, _way_ off. Not the usual passion, bright colours it always bore but dark, dangerous ones. It unnerved her a lot as she walked through the front door of the mansion.

Immediately, she spotted a girl who looked to be no more than a teenager in a corner, burying her face in her hands with her shoulders shaking, probably crying.

"Are you alright?" Zatanna asked, stepping towards her when the girl suddenly turned around, her eyes pulled out of her sockets so only the black holes of where her eyes once were. A frightened sound escaped Zatanna's lips as she jumped back in time as the girl swung at her with a sharp kitchen knife.

Zatanna summoned her blood magic and held a hand out at the girl, quickly clenching it as a red magic circle appeared underneath the girl. Like the sound of sauce boiling in a hot pot, the blood inside the girl began to boil until she finally exploded into tiny pieces, blood and insides splattering along the wall.

"Let's hope Grout has good cleaning ladies," Zatanna murmured to herself, checking her body to see if she got any blood on her blouse. Finally, with a guilty look, she quickly made a silent prayer to the girl before exiting the foyer and heading inside.

As soon as she spied more of those….crazy victims, Zatanna knew it was going to be a _long_ night.

**oOo**

**One Hour Later…**

She absolutely hated the Malkavian mansion.

For some ungodly reason, either the man really was paranoid that someone was going to come in and kill him in the middle of the night, _or_ he was really intelligent enough to create his ENTIRE mansion into one big puzzle. Or he wanted to fuck with the minds of burglars.

Zatanna also learned the hard way to not try and _feed_ off of the crazy ghoul victims she encountered. Lest she wanted to throw up the foul tasting blood in a corner again, staining her shirt.

Every once in a while, she would encounter a recording of Grout speaking of his research. The things he did….what he discovered and the experiments he created…it made her sick to her stomach.

As she climbed up the stairs, a hissing sound behind her informed Zatanna that she had left one of those…things alive. Turning around slightly, she began trying out her new idea for blood magic, something she thought theoretically should work: blood bending.

The idea itself came to her when she recalled watching a popular show called, 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' with one of her clients children. Zatanna remembered seeing the episode and thinking back on it now, she hated the idea of someone doing that to her.

Now it might save her life.

Concentrating, Zatanna focussed on the blood coursing through the masked maniac's veins and felt the familiar buzz in the back of her head. A red magic circle appeared below her feet as she crossed her arms in front of her.

The man froze, no longer moving his body, shaking slightly as his body moved on its own. Taking a deep breath, Zatanna uncrossed her arms and looked away as a sickening sound of a neck snapping filled the room. Glancing back, she saw the dead body and knew her, 'theory,' was right. It didn't bring her the happiness she expected; in fact it just made her even sicker as knots formed in her stomach.

There was danger to this technique…one she would never share with her own kind.

_Let's just get this over with,_ she thought, glancing at her watch. _I only have three hours left before sunrise._

Zatanna walked up the flight of stairs, entering a round room with what looked like to be a…oh god. Covering her mouth in disgust, her eyes widened slightly as she studied the stuffed woman closely, recognising her face as Grout's wife who had passed away. The sick bastard had stuffed his wife and turned her into a doll….

"May god have mercy on his soul when I'm through with him," she swallowed, turning to the recorder next to her and pressing a green button on the side. A click made her turn her head, watching Grout's wife turn until she face Zatanna and the door behind her unlocked. Without taking another look at the stuffed, deceased woman, Zatanna kept walking, opening the door and finding the room empty, except for the presence of a skeleton on the large bed.

Frowning, she drew closer and studied the corpse, finding both feet chained together and to the bed, a stake through the heart and both hands. Before she could study it further, a loud bang rang throughout the mansion, shaking it slightly.

Zatanna stumbled a bit before catching herself, running towards where the noise had come from. As soon as she opened the door, large, deadly flames and heat greeted her face as the bottom level was on fire.

"Grout, lay low and be cleansed by the flames!" a voice called across the room, turning Zatanna gaze from the fire to the man standing on the other side of the room.

"What the fuck?" she whispered in disbelief. "I'm not Grout! You already killed him!"

"Grout is dead?" he asked in disbelief with a slight Russian, Romanian accent. "A pity it could not be by my hand! No matter – soon your self –made kings and false prophets, and all who bear the mark of the beast, will be washed from the earth, for the coming of the Lord!"

"Who the hell are you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "As you burn, tell them it was Grunfeld Bach who sent your damned soul to that lake of fire! All agents of Satan shall return to whence they came!" he shouted in determination. "Let this righteous display serve as a promise to all who serve the archfiend LaCroix! I'm coming for you, LaCroix! By the power of the Lord, I will cleanse your black soul!"

Zatanna watched in disbelief as he disappeared through a door on his side before glancing down at the burning fire. This was not going to end well for anyone…

**oOo**

**Day Twenty-nine…**

**Location: LaCroix Foundation Towers**

LaCroix didn't seem impressed by her appearance as she entered the room, ignoring the burnt smell and the fact that most of her clothing was burnt. It looked like she was wearing shorts, no shoes and the front of her blouse was burnt, making her cover herself from a red curtain piece she ripped off in Grout's mansion.

"The primogen still haven't been contacted by Grout. I thought I made it clear that you were not supposed to come back until we had heard from him," LaCroix said curtly and Zatanna's patience snapped.

"First of all, if the primogen want to hear from Grout, tell them to hold a séance!" Zatanna snapped at him, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the Prince.

He ignored her tone, staring at her in shock. "Grout's dead?! What?"

"Second, I almost died in the fire this crazy son of a bitch Bach set up."

Now LaCroix looked even more shocked with a hint of annoyance. "Bach! Every time I think he's lost the scent…." He recovered himself. "So, Bach killed Grout to draw me out."

"No, Bach made it perfectly clear in his disappointment that _he_ wasn't the one to kill Grout. The guy was already dead," Zatanna informed him and LaCroix looked at her as if she were a child, belittling her.

"Who else would have killed Grout?" he asked her and she shrugged her shoulders.

Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Why don't you tell me, Captain Dramatic."

"Watch your tongue, _fledgling_ ," LaCroix hissed and Zatanna's eyes flashed with a dangerous anger and fury. "You will under no circumstances disrespect your leader."

" _My_ leader?!" Zatanna exclaimed. "I don't remember swearing my allegiance to _anybody_!"

"You're undergoing trials—"

Zatanna cut him off. "That's just it, they're _trials_ not my _loyalty_. You can take your leadership and shove it up your ass!"

Sheriff behind him growled in warning, glaring down at her while LaCroix looked at her coolly. Zatanna looked away, feeling her anger drain away slowly and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"If you are done with your tantrum," LaCroix said bluntly and Zatanna flinched slightly. "I've come to a decision on the Ankaran Sarcophagus, and I believe that for the safety of the inhabitants of this city, we need to place the sarcophagus under Camarilla protection, until its contents can be confirmed. It was quietly delivered to the Museum of Natural History a few hours ago."

Zatanna looked at him in disbelief. "Wait a—"

"Is there a problem?"

Zatanna looked down at the ground in defeat, clenching her fists at her side. "No, sir,"

* * *

**Song: Magnet by Hatsune Miku**

 


	6. Chapter Five - Crazy In Love

**Chapter Five:**

**Crazy In Love**

**Day Thirty…**

**Location: Downtown Haven**

Heather was on the couch, studying up on today's lectures at Zatanna's request while the Tremere ran around, getting ready for her first outing since being Embraced. A _real_ outing where she wasn't required to kill someone, hunt down a crazy Malkavian or find some artifact. Where she could go out and enjoy herself.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Heather asked for the fifth time from the couch as Zatanna put mascara on her eye lashes in the bathroom. "I could get you drinks."

"Heather…" Zatanna replied in a warning tone and the ghoul finally decided to back off, realizing the Tremere wasn't going to budge. After doing the last lash, Zatanna stood back and admired her work. Having Heather around was handy, finally able to buy clothes and other essentials that were practically only available during the day.

Zatanna was wearing a simple pair of dark blue cuff jeans with a black belt with a silver vine cross at the front. A light green singlet with her hair out, wavy in its long length with two feathers entwined into her red locks.

She still couldn't believe she was going out tonight, with Nines and the others from the Last Round Bar. Zatanna was still suspicious of Nines being at Grout's mansion. When she examined his aura when she saw him again after her trip to the museum, it was normal again. Not the dark, forbearing one she saw earlier. There had to be an explanation for it, Zatanna was sure of it.

**Hours Earlier…**

_Zatanna had walked into the Last Round Bar, completely tired and still drained from her earlier activities the night before. That sarcophagus was heavy as fuck, even with her new strength. Being a Tremere had its draw backs sometimes._

" _Hey, if it isn't little Italy," Skelter greeted, letting her step aside to head up the stairs. She gave the dark skinned Brujah a weak smile before slowly walking up the stairs, her eyes finding Nines as soon as possible._

" _You get beat up by some senior?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at the clear exhaustion in his adopted childe's stance. "You look like shit, kiddo."_

" _Thanks," Zatanna replied dryly, not impressed with her adopted sire's shit words of comfort as Nines walked over, holding her shoulders steady as if she would have passed out. "Don't treat me like a baby."_

_Nines studied her and sighed. "How long has it been since you fed?"_

_Zatanna didn't even bother trying to answer, they both knew it had been ages and add to the fact that she vomited up some blood, used her blood magic and almost_ _**died** _ _again….well it made the Beast come close to surfacing._

" _I've been a busy girl," Zatanna grumbled, allowing Nines to sit her down at a table as Damsel handed her a cup full of blood. The Beast flickered through her eyes as she drank it eagerly, making Damsel hand her two more cups before her thirst was satisfied….for now at least._

" _What's LaCrotch making you do to push you close to frenzying, Cammy?" Damsel asked in disgust and Zatanna sighed tiredly, rubbing the bridge between her eyes._

" _Try discovering Grout was murdered, running from a fire since some sick priest thought it would be a fun idea to play arsonist. Then having to be sent to a fucking museum to grab a sarcophagus and hand it over to the bastard," she answered in one breath, stunning the three Brujah to silence._

_It was Jack who answered first. "That Ankaran Sarcophagus that has the Camarilla goin' ape shit over?"_

_Zatanna nodded, narrowing her eyes at the table. "There's…something off about it," she shook her head, shaking off the feeling of dread. "I don't like it one bit so I'm glad to be away from it."_

_Damsel studied her closely for a bit before slamming her fist down onto the table, making Zatanna jumped in surprise while the two men barely flinched. Apparently they were used to it from the female Brujah._

" _We need to hang out, go to a club or somethin'," Damsel suggested eagerly, looking at the two warily. "Unless you two planned to make her drink to death."_

_Jack looked at her in mock hurt while Nines still kept his stone face. "You need to rest," Nines told Zatanna firmly and the inner rebel in Zatanna flared; she was so sick of everyone telling her what to do lately._

" _No, I think that's a good idea," she told Damsel, ignoring Nines glare. "There's this club I've been meaning to check out."_

" _Great, how about eight?"_

" _Make it eight thirty and you've got yourself a deal."_

**Present…**

Zatanna glanced at the clock as she placed her silver hoop earrings into her ears. She had five minutes left and it was time for Heather to head home. She cleared her throat, indicating to the college student that she had overstayed her usual time.

Heather pouted but didn't complain as she gathered her things into her bag while Zatanna checked her laptop, finding no emails from LaCroix at the moment. Thank god, the idea of running another errand for the guy wasn't appealing.

"See you tomorrow, get home safe," Zatanna told her and Heather nodded, leaving the apartment and Zatanna grabbed her white strapped heels. Moments later, a knock at her door informed her that Damsel had arrived and was waiting for her. "Hold on."

Quickly, she grabbed her small white purse and ran to the door, opening it and looked in surprise at her guest. It wasn't Damsel standing there but Nines who had been taking in her appearance with much surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Zatanna asked, walking out and locking the door before heading down the hall and down the steps. "I thought you weren't interested in this type of thing."

"Someone has to make sure you don't collapse," Nines answered, clearing his throat a bit as he stepped in beside her while they walked out of the apartment complex. "I don't trust Damsel to be able to keep an eye on you _while_ drinking."

"Can't hold her liquor?"

"(You'll see for yourself.)"

It was then Zatanna actually took the time to notice he had changed, wearing a simple light blue shirt that matched his eyes, showing off no doubt abs hidden underneath with a pair of black jeans and converses.

"(You don't look half bad,)" Zatanna teased, although she was lying to herself. He looked _hot_ and wanted nothing more than to drag him back to the haven and strip him of his clothes. The sudden made her frown, catching herself and shaking her head to clear unwanted thoughts out of her mind.

It didn't help when Nines smirked back at her, his eyes twinkling. "(I could say the same for you, Zap.)"

Zatanna swallowed hard, thankful that she could no longer blush as they arrived at the club, finding Damsel and Skelter standing out the front waiting. Damsel had ditched her hat, wearing her hair in a ponytail with the same pants but a black crop top while Skelter….was the same as ever.

"Damsel, in a crop top?" Zatanna laughed and the Brujah woman flashed her smirk.

"Hey, I can be a den mother _and_ still look fucking hot while doin' it," Damsel pointed out and Zatanna didn't doubt that one bit. Skelter's mouth had dropped practically to the ground as he stared at Zatanna, erupting a growl from Nines beside her.

He caught himself, looking away as they headed inside.

**oOo**

**Two Hours Later…**

Zatanna was drunk….but not as bad as she would have been. She was still able to form sentences properly, still see straight and walked fine as if she wasn't drunk. But there was the usual buzz in the back of her head and her morals took a hike a LONG time ago.

Damsel and Skelter had disappeared half an hour ago so it was just her and Nines at the bar, drinking and laughing, exchanging embarrassing childhood stories. Somehow, halfway through they both switched to Italian but that didn't bother her one bit. In fact, it just made the male Brujah sexier than ever.

"(This…was a good idea,)" Zatanna smiled fondly, nursing her red bull and vodka. "(I'm so glad I came out tonight.)"

"(So am I,)" Nines smiled, watching her as 'Crazy In Love,' by Beyoncé filled the club. Zatanna instantly beamed, getting up as her favourite song blasted in the speakers. She practically ran to the dance floor, amongst the crowd and began dancing to the tune.

As Zatanna danced, letting her inhibitions go, her eyes caught Nines watching her in amusement. Smirking, she gestured him over with her finger and turned away, moving her hips. When two hands suddenly held onto her hips, she knew who it was by the scent hitting her nose.

Nines spun her around and they faced each other, dancing along to the beat as Zatanna's hair glided along her back with each movement. The dance, the song, being close to him…Zatanna didn't know what was happening until Nines's body was pressed against her to the point where she could feel his warm breath on her face.

Fluttering her eyes underneath her lashes, she looked at him and saw a primal, animalistic desire swirling in the blue depths. She felt herself being drawn in, as if she were going to drown any second.

"(Let's go somewhere else,)" Zatanna murmured, leaning her lips against his ear, feeling his hand roughly on her tailbone.

"(Tired?)" he asked softly, clutching her closer to his hard body, as if keeping her from any other males in the club.

Zatanna felt a small smirk on her lips. "(Actually, a little more energetic,)" she pulled back and lightly pressed her lips against his neck, feeling him shudder slightly.

"(We better take care of that then.)"

**oOo**

**Day Thirty…**

**Location: Downtown Haven**

As soon as they stepped through her front door, Nines's lips were hungrily pressed against Zatanna's, slamming the door shut with his foot while holding Zatanna with both hands.

The Tremere had wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, moaning into the Brujah's hard, but firm lips. When Nines's tongue pushed past its way into her mouth, she gladly accepted it, sucking on the tip slightly.

Still holding her with one arm, Nines used his other to begin removing the clothed barriers, ripping her singlet. Zatanna let out a squeal, not really caring that her new clothing was ripped, more focused on the pleasure she was no doubt to receive.

" _Evomer S'senin trihs_ ," Zatanna murmured, ignoring the buzz in her head as Nines's shirt, as if sharp nails had cut them, fell into ribbons and onto the floor, exposing his rock hard, pale chest for Zatanna's hands to explore.

Nines attached her neck, sucking and gently nipping at it as he walked forwards, towards the bed before dropping Zatanna onto the hard mattress. An annoyed growl escaped Zatanna's lips as she sat up slightly, allowing Nines to cut through the middle of her bra with his teeth.

" _Deb emoceb sa tfos sa sduolc_!" Zatanna ordered, feeling the familiar drain of the baby magic taught to her as the hard mattress turned soft underneath her. "(You owe me a new bra,)" she hissed, feeling his tongue running down the middle of her chest, heading down to her stomach.

"(I prefer you without one,)" he murmured against her stomach, locking eyes with her before running his fangs up and down her front. Feeling jolts of electricity and a tingling sensation, Zatanna gasped, arching her back while Nines held onto her hips, trying to keep her in one place.

"I swear to god if you don't fucking hurry—(Oh sweet Mary, Joseph and the donkey that she rode on!)" Zatanna cried out, feeling Nines's attacking her perked nipples with his tongue, squeezing the other with his hand. Her fingers gripped onto his back, digging her nails in slightly. "You're…not playing…fair!"

Nines smirked against her breast, continuing his assault. Fine, if he wanted to play the game, meet the star player.

" _Evomer lla gnihtolc morf Se_ —" Zatanna was cut off mid-spell by Nines pressing his lips against hers, pulling back with a playful growl.

"No more tricks," he told her firmly, grabbing her wrists together with his hand and holding them above her head, his other hand teasingly on the hem of her jeans. "We do this my way."

Zatanna narrowed her eyes at him, watching him as he painfully, slowly removed her jeans with only her underwear and shoes left on. "(I won't have shoes on my bed,)" she told him firmly and Nines thought about it for a second, looking at her with suspicious eyes. "(I won't say anything besides that.)"

Finally, he nodded and she kissed his cheek softly before laying back on the bed. " _Evomer htob seohs_ ," she murmured, feeling her shoes lightly remove themselves, floating in the air until they landed next to the front door, along with Nines.

"You look impatient," Nines said, tracing his fingers near her opening, her underwear the along barrier between his fingers and her wet opening. Zatanna's nails dug into the mattress, clenching as Nines tortured her in the worst way possible.

"Nines, please," Zatanna could hardly believe that she had reduced to pleading for sex. If it were anyone else, the very thought would have made her scoff but for some reason, everything was different with Nines.

Nines answered her pleas by ripping her panties and drove two fingers straight into her. Zatanna gasped, arching her back in surprise while he continued to pump in and out of her. For a Brujah, he was surprinsgly gentle with his movements, hitting her soft spots and making her toes curl in pleasure.

His fingers weren't good enough, she needed more….she needed _him_. Nines's eyes flashed towards her, capturing her gaze as if he had read her mind. Still pumping his fingers inside, with released the bulge in his pants and Zatanna's eyes slightly widened in surprise. Whether he was that well-endowed in his human years or due to becoming a Brujah, Zatanna was still impressed and slightly intimidated by the size.

Fuck it; she was drunk and felt like a bitch in heat. He could rip her to shreds and she'd still want more.

Without saying anything or warning, Nines drove himself deeply into Zatanna and she let out a soundless scream, feeling him filling himself inside of her. Both of them stilled, allowing Zatanna to adjust to his length before be slowly pulled out and back in.

Zatanna moaned, gripping his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his waist as Nines picked up the pace, practically drilling into her with speed that only one of the Brujah clan could possess.

She wriggled, going crazy underneath him, letting go and biting him deeply, sucking a little blood. Nines cursed in her ear, letting out a groan at the feeling of her feeding off of him before doing the same.

As soon as Nines dug his fangs into her neck, drinking from her as well, both released and fell into a beautiful bliss for a few moments. Zatanna withdrew from his neck, licking the wound gently as if in apology while Nines pulled out.

Drunk, her bottom half tingling from her orgasm and feeling slightly light headed from the blood loss, Zatanna collapsed onto the bed without warning.

**oOo**

Zatanna's head pounded, her crotch area feeling like someone had stretched it to hell and back as she woke up. Groaning, she sat up and clutched her head. "(How long was I asleep for?)"

"Throughout the night and day," Nines's voice startled her and she looked at him in surprise as he sat on the couch, watching the TV as the news came on. "You got pretty smashed."

"Ugh, I _feel_ like I did," she grumbled, seeing her clothes ripped on the floor and lack of clothing on her body. Quickly, she covered herself with the sheets and looked at Nines for an explanation as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"You picked a fight with some Sabbat and won," he answered with a shrug, a hard edge in his voice that made her frown at.

"Oh god, you've been looking after me all day," Zatanna bit her bottom lip in guilt and sighed. "Look, sorry that you were trapped in here."

"Don't worry about it, this is why I said you should rest."

As she got up, clutching the sheet close to her body and grabbing some clothes from her draws, Zatanna couldn't help but think there was more to the story than Nines was letting on. After all, when she turned to him from the doorway to the bathroom, he kept staring at the TV with a hard expression on his face.

* * *

**Song: Crazy In Love by Beyonce**

 


	7. Chapter Six - Run Devil Run

**Chapter Six:**

**Run Devil Run**

**Day Thirty-Five…**

**Location: Last Round Bar…**

Now that LaCroix was leaving her alone for a while, doing god knows what, Zatanna finally had time to investigate the plague Damsel had mentioned earlier. She had questioned some of the homeless and ended up with nothing much useful.

"Little Italy," Skelter nodded at her in greeting, moving out of the way for her to head upstairs. Zatanna smiled in greeting, walking up the steps and finding it was Jack and Damsel chilling, no sign of Nines.

She couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed and even more confused. Ever since that night at the club Nines had been avoiding her like _she_ had the plague. It hurt slightly but Zatanna tried to ignore it as she smiled at her adopted-sire and best girl-friend.

"I nothing much from the homeless," Zatanna informed Damsel who frowned slightly, not happy with the result.

"Alright, gotta check with Paul then," Damsel jumped off of her stool and waved at Jack. As the two of them headed downstairs, Skelter whistled loudly and Damsel rolled her eyes.

"A Brujah and a Tremere walking out of a bar," he snorted, looking at them in amusement. "Sounds like a start of a bad joke."

"And you're the punch line," Damsel retorted, flipping him off as Zatanna chuckled, leaving the bar. They began walking down the street when a faint screaming was heard coming from a warehouse where some of the homeless hung out. Damsel was going to ignore it when Zatanna ran towards the sound. "Just leave it, it's best not to stick your nose into things like that."

"Why? So innocent people get hurt?" Zatanna asked her in a firm voice, staring down at her before turning on her heel and running to the warehouse. She threw the door open and immediately, the smell of blood hit her nose to the point where she cough, overwhelmed.

Covering her mouth slightly, Zatanna hesitantly walked further in and found a man crouched on the floor, covering his head with his arms. A pool of blood was close to him and Zatanna's eyes trailed up to the second floor, finding a beheaded, shirtless male body impaled through the chest by a pipe.

_Gross,_ Zatanna wrinkled her nose in disgust, turning her gaze away and slowly walking over to the man as Damsel appeared in the doorway, staring up at the body.

"Dammit Cammy, this is why I said to leave things alone," Damsel groaned and Zatanna ignored her, bending down to the man. By the scent, he was a homeless man and _very_ frightened.

"Are you okay?" Zatanna asked gently, helping him stand up as he shook slightly in fear.

"D-d-d-did you see it?" he stammered and Zatanna nodded. "He done tore him up. Right in two. Ripped him 'part like a rag doll."

"Tell me what you saw," Zatanna said, reverting back to her old lawyer days when she would meet with the client and have them recount the incident that led to the charges.

"These two guys—the dead guy and the other'n—uh, they showed up. I been living here so I hid, I thought maybe they was owners or…or cops come to clean the place out," he told her and Zatanna placed a hand on her hip as Damsel stood next to her.

"This is a waste of time," Damsel muttered and Zatanna shushed her before turning back to the homeless man.

"Who was the other guy?" Zatanna questioned.

"The dead feller called him 'Muddy'."

Damsel rolled her eyes as Zatanna nodded. "So the victim and Muddy, what were they doing here?"

The homeless rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "Uh, they was waitin' on someone. They was going do some kind of job they was sayin'. But the person they was meetin', well he was late, so—the one guy leaves to find a phone and call him and the dead guy stayed," he shuddered, letting out a slight cough as he remembered. "Well, that's when the killer…that's when he showed up."

Zatanna raised an eyebrow. "Showed up?" she repeated and he nodded, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"One second he wa'n't there an' then he was; like out of the shadows he come up. Scared the shit outta t' dead guy. I liked ta scream but I couldn't breathe," he informed Zatanna as Damsel left them, heading up to the second floor to examine the body.

"Then what happened?"

"Oh, that killer, he grew these claws," he saw the brow raised and nodded at her furiously. "I swear it, I saw it. The dead guy went white, like he seen the devil, then the killer grabbed him around the neck an' lifted him up and started cursin' at the guy."

"What did he say?" Zatanna asked, crossing her arms over her chest while she also kept an eye on any auras in the building. Nine times out of ten, the killer would come back to treasure his kill.

"Oh, I-I couldn't hear too good," he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Somethin' about revenge for what he did or what they did. Th-the killer made sure the dead guy knew who he was, and then ripped him open…uh, just tore him apart. He did it real slow; made the guy scream."

_Someone who enjoys inflicting torture and pain to his victims, a natural hunter,_ Zatanna assessed from the information and nodded. "What about the other guy, Muddy, did he come back?" she questioned the whereabouts of the third guy but he shook his head.

"No, he never come back," he answered and Zatanna sighed, looking up at the body and wanted to have a look herself, maybe find some clue.

"Thanks, you should clear out before he comes back," Zatanna advised and he nodded, leaving the warehouse as Zatanna jumped onto the boxes and onto the second floor since the stairs were alit with fire. "Find anything?"

Damsel held up a car stereo and a room key. "Belongs to Luckee Star, get anything useful from the bum?"

"Muddy never came back for his buddy here," Zatanna nodded her head at the corpse, crouching and seeing the claws marks along the chest and the half messy beheaded job. "From the evidence and educated guess, the killer is a natural hunter, someone who stalks their prey and waits until they're vulnerable before striking. He also seems to enjoy torture, inflicting deep wounds into the chest around the heart slowly before finally ending it, installing fear into his victim."

Damsel looked at her impressed, letting out a low whistle and Zatanna frowned slightly at her. "I forget you used to be a lawyer, you've dealt with things like this before?"

"Something like that," Zatanna stood up and looking at Damsel. "I'll take a look into this later; we need to get to the bottom of the plague problem."

"I saw some more homeless outside, you go talk to them while I'll drag Paul out and make him talk," Damsel said as they jumped down to the bottom level, leaving the warehouse. "Stay safe, Cammy."

"You too," Zatanna waved her off, spotting a homeless woman in a blue dressing gown further away, standing close to the fire lit in the barrel. She headed towards her, putting on her best smile and ignoring the fire.

As soon as the woman spotted her, she glared at her threateningly. "Get away from me! Leave me alone!"

Zatanna held up her hands in surrender, staring at the woman dead in the eye and tried to send her calm feelings, the familiar buzz in the back of her head as she used her power. "I need to ask you about the sickness that's been plaguing the homeless," she said in a calm tone and the woman relaxed but still looked at her suspiciously.

"Oh, you do? Well, I don't believe you. You're after my aluminium cans, aren't you?" she accused as she coughed slightly and Zatanna swallowed her discomfort.

"I don't want your cans, just some information," Zatanna replied firmly and the woman snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that before," she sneered. "Come back with some green, maybe I'll believe you."

Zatanna saw it was useless and was about to use her powers when her phone vibrated in her front jean pocket. Grabbing it out, she saw it was a text from Damsel.

_**Come to Skyline Apartments, I've found something.** _

Zatanna smiled at the woman who watched. "Looks like I won't need your help after all. Thank you for your time," she said politely before heading off.

**oOo**

"Paul's dead," Damsel informed her as soon as Zatanna stepped into the apartment and she sighed.

"Did you find anything else in the apartment?" Zatanna questioned as she noticed the red light beeping on the answering machine. Without a word, Zatanna walked over and pressed the button.

" _Hi Paul, it's Hannah. Just calling to see how you are. I hope I didn't give you what I've got,"_ Hannah coughed and Zatanna looked at Damsel. " _Ugh, I feel like crap. Actually, I need to ask you a favour. Could you pick me up some cold medicine from the store? I hate to bother you, but…I can't seem to get out of bed. The code on my door is 1203…Hey, listen, I, uh…had a really good time the other night. Maybe we could do it again sometime? Sorry, I'm rambling…okay bye."_

"Know anything about this Hannah girl?" Zatanna asked and Damsel shrugged her shoulders.

"Not my ghoul, not my problem," Damsel answered simply as Zatanna nodded. "That room is also in this apartment, should we check it out?"

"Sounds like a plan," Zatanna replied as they left Paul's apartment, heading to the apartment. As they exited the elevator, Damsel voiced a question that Zatanna herself as been wondering.

"What's the deal with you and Nines?" Damsel questioned as Zatanna pressed the code into the security pad and the door unlocked.

"What do you mean?" Zatanna asked, opening the door and heading inside, smelling the faint smell of sickness, the same smell that was in Paul's apartment. Damsel must have smelt it as well, as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Are you blind? He's been avoiding you lately and not talking about you," Damsel rolled her eyes as they headed upstairs. "Seriously, he looks constipated every time someone mentions your name."

_Ouch,_ Zatanna winced mentally, hearing the sounds of coughing coming from the bedroom and opened the door.

"Paul, is that…Hey," Hannah looked alarmed at the sight of them. "You're not Paul! Who are you? What are you doing in here?"

Zatanna pulled out a wallet and flipped open the blank piece of paper inside, hoping it would work. "I'm from the CDC," she quickly returned the wallet to the inside of her jeans. "Your friend Paul's not doing so hot and I'm looking into it."

"Well I think…I got sick from one of my…clients," Hannah answered in between coughs. "I was feeling fine until I…I uh…I saw her a few days ago."

"She's a prostitute," Damsel muttered and Hannah shot her a weak glare as Zatanna took over the situation.

"Who was this client?"

"She was just a woman who called. She, uh…she found me ad in the newspaper. Usually only do business with referrals, you know, but she was offerin' a lot of money."

Zatanna frowned slightly. "What can you tell me about this woman?"

Hannah coughed deeply and groaned. "Her name was Jezebel, Jezebel Locke. I'm usually not too good with names, you know, but hers was so strange…I can't seem to get it out of my head."

"Where did you meet her, Hannah? Where is Jezebel Locke?" Zatanna asked, taking mental notes to ask Jack later back at the Last Round.

"She had a room at the Empire Hotel. I can't remember the number," Hannah trailed off and looked at Zatanna with pleading eyes. "Hey, are you sure that Paul's okay? He's not sick, is he?"

Damsel stepped in, a little impatient. "Paul's dead," she told her bluntly and Hannah's eyes widened.

"No, Paul," she shook her head. "It's not true…oh god, no!" Hannah moaned, burying her face into her pillows, sobbing. Zatanna shot Damsel a look before placing a finger to Hannah's neck, closing her eyes and forcing her head to be snapped from the inside with her blood. The sobbing was cut off and Zatanna stepped back, leaving the room.

"That was callous of you," Zatanna told Damsel, not happy with the Brujah's behaviour as they headed down the steps and out of the apartment. "You could have lied to her and let her die in peace."

"We're not here to play nice, Cammy. We're here to find and kill the bastard doing all of this," Damsel reminded Zatanna, lightly hitting her fists together for emphasis.

Zatanna didn't say anything but checked the time on her phone, seeing it would be dawn in an hour. "I'm calling it a night, I'll see you tomorrow."

"You never answered my question earlier," Damsel called as Zatanna began walking away.

"Because I don't have an answer to give. I'm in the dark as much as you are," Zatanna answered quietly, knowing Damsel could hear perfectly as she continued. As she walked past the abandoned hospital, Zatanna sensed something off. Her sense of justice and curiosity hadn't changed since she was Embraced and she investigated.

Hearing the shouts of male terror as she entered, Zatanna turned the corner just as a man almost collided with her. Seeing her standing there, the man looked even more frightened and desperate as he grabbed her shoulders.

"Help me! Help me! It's got them—It's coming for me now! I-it's coming for me!" he wailed, shaking her shoulders and Zatanna politely removed them.

"Slow down," she told him, pulling him around the corner. "Mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

"My crew…my crew, w-we were… we were here shooting for my show," he stammered, looking over her shoulder. "I'm a parapsychologist—Haunted LA?"

No spark of recognition hit her as he covered his face with his hands.

"Oh god, it was right behind me," he looked up at her, eyes widened in fear. "We've got to get out of here!"

"(I swear I'm about to slap some sense in you,)" Zatanna muttered in Italian before looking at him firmly in the eye. "What's behind you?"

"Look, I'll level with you. We-we-we usually fake these things, you know? Ghosts…that's all bullshit. We were setting up downstairs and…weird shit started happening, uh….my crew, they all started disappearing. I-I don't know what's happening," he spat at her, the fear mixing in with anger and Zatanna looked at him dead in the eye.

" _Calm down_ ," she whispered softly as he slowly calmed down, the anger leaving his eyes. "Wait here, I'll see if I can find them."

He grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away. "A-no! No, don't go down there! We've gotta get out of here. It's coming…it's coming…it's coming," he muttered to himself as Zatanna released his grip on her and walked down the hall and into the open room.

A set of computers were on the desk, one of them currently turned on. Zatanna examined the footage and saw a man running past a doorway before being thrown at the camera by some kind of force.

"(Not a human,)" she murmured to herself, leaving the room and seeing the hallway blocked by furniture stacked up. Assuming it was the man's attempt of stopping whatever is after him; Zatanna left it alone and headed to the closed door. Opening it up, she saw the ventilation shaft opened and climbed into it.

Crawling through the shaft, Zatanna kept an eye on any auras close to her by using the Auspex discipline before dropping down onto a bed below. Quietly, Zatanna poked her head out of the room and saw the hallway blocked on both sides and a closed door across. Making sure to not make any sounds, Zatanna walked over and fiddled with the door knob, finding it unlocked and revealing a stairwell going up.

Zatanna examined underneath the stairwell and saw a hole in the wall. Crouching down, she crawled through and found another room with computers. As she did with the last one, Zatanna examined the footage and witnessed a man being dragged out by someone.

"What's going on here?" she asked herself, keeping her guard up as she burst through double doors and saw a camera set up in a corner, pointed at a massive hole in the wall with the floor broken into pieces. Stepping through, Zatanna jumped down onto the lower level and smelt blood, finding massive amounts along the floor and walls.

Ignoring the burning sensation in her throat, Zatanna saw a door and walked through, finding the room worse than the previous one in terms of blood. Covering her mouth slightly, Zatanna examined the rooms before coming across one with a tiled hallway. Following the small trail of blood, her eyes widened as a man shouted silently at her from a door further down.

Zatanna was about to run over and help when he exploded, staining the window of the door with his blood. Holding back her disgust, Zatanna ran over and fiddled with the door, finding it locked. Looking around, she saw another door and went inside, finding a hole in the wall leading to the next room.

Taking a moment, Zatanna closed her eyes and opened them, activating Auspex and finding only one living thing in the next room, clouded in a bright yellow.

Cautiously, Zatanna walked into the next room, finding an exotic woman covered in blood from her mouth and her clothes stained with it, her eyes a fearful white.

"Real terror is not the sight of death; it is the fear of death," the woman said, staring at the dead body of her latest victim. "What is the fear of death? Terror of the unknown. Is it these eyes you peer into," she stared up at Zatanna who narrowed her own brown ones. "No, I am not the unknown; you and I are closer kin than you and it were," she pointed her head at the dead man.

"What are you?" Zatanna asked, despite being completely disgusted with the display.

"You are uncomfortable, I can see that," she chuckled, finding it amusing. "Drinking blood to sustain your death, you are damned, yes?"

Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest. "That's one way to look at it."

"What if, besides the blood of the living, you had to eat pounds of their flesh to maintain that thin façade of life—what would you call it? Twice damned?"

"Who are you?"

"My birth name I tell no one. You may address me as Pisha. Pisha was the name of my companion and lover in a time before my death, 230 years ago. She has no need of it anymore," Pisha looked at her in interest. "And who might you be?"

"Zatanna Ible," Zatanna answered, studying her closely. "Why are you living in a condemned building?"

"My stay in this city is transitory. I seek relics of the occult traced here, and would trade similar artifacts to acquire them…but if you wish to bargain with me, the kine upstairs must be sent down here. He has seen too much," Pisha purred as they heard footsteps.

"You should know then, if you pull this crap you get put down," a familiar voice announced and Zatanna felt her stomach flutter at the sound of his voice, turning and finding Nines walking towards them. But that was soon replaced by anger as he barely glanced at her.

"(What the hell are you doing here?)" she demanded him as Pisha raised a brow at him.

"If a man walks into a tiger's domain, it may result in his being devoured. So it has," Pisha told him callously, glaring at him as if he were invading her territory.

"About these artifacts you were talking about…" Zatanna prompted, getting Pisha's attention back onto her.

"Yes, I am searching for two items I have tracked to this area. One I believe may be in one of the local museums; I have not yet searched them all. The other I believe to be in the Giovanni's possession, though I have not confirmed it," Pisha explained and for some reason, a cold shiver ran down Zatanna's back.

"Tell me about the item you think is in the museum," Zatanna questioned, hoping it would not be the Ankaran Sarcophagus.

"A fetish is described in a nineteenth century chronicle of a British platoon's encounter with a local tribe. Soldiers would go missing in the night and be replaced by these fetishes. It may be valuable to my studies," Pisha answered and Zatanna let out a small sigh of relief. "You seem relieved."

"For good reasons," she replied before turning on her heel and walking out of the building, finding the pathways unblocked. No doubt, Nines's doing as the said man caught up with her. She ignored him, until he finally grabbed her wrist outside of the hospital.

"Let go of me," Zatanna hissed but he stared at her firmly, not releasing his grip on her.

"Why were you in there on your own? Do you know how much shit you could have gotten into, much less killed?" he asked in a low tone and she glared at him.

"(Why do you care? How the hell did you know?)" she questioned and it dawned on her. "Dammit Damsel."

"She was worried about you doing something stupid, which you did, kid," Nines stated dryly and Zatanna finally snapped.

"(I am not a kid!)" she shouted at him, feeling tears come to the corner of her eyes but she ignored them. "(Stop treating me like I'm some clueless, naïve child!)"

Zatanna pulled on her wrist and he released his grip as she hugged it to her chest, looking at him with pained eyes. "Why do you care anyway? You just up and left and avoided me like I have the plague that's going around."

"I wasn't—"

"Don't lie to me," she told him in a small voice. "You can do whatever you want but _never_ lie to me. Just leave me alone."

"Zatanna…" Nines broke off as she turned, running towards the apartment she lived in without looking back. When she was in the safety of its privacy, she broke down and let out the sobs she held inside for the past thirty-five days of her new life.

* * *

**Song: Run Devil Run by Girl's Generation**


	8. Chapter Seven - Guren no Yumiya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here, I inserted actual Italian words instead of brackets and put the translations at the bottom of the page. Enjoy :)

**Chapter Seven:**

**Guren no Yumiya**

**Day Thirty-Seven…**

**Location: Downtown…**

She knew she was being followed the moment she had stepped out of her apartment. It was nothing new to her, in this life and in her human life. Back then, she was often approached by detectives working her case or her clients or people _looking_ to be her clients.

So what did she do? Zatanna played it cool, continuing to walk down the street without tipping her pursuer off that she was aware of their presence until she turned into an alleyway. As soon as she was off the street and in the alleyway, Zatanna spun around and expected her pursuer to follow her.

Moments passed and there was no sign of anyone, apart from people walking past said alley and carrying on about their lives.

_Weird, I must have been wrong,_ Zatanna thought, frowning slightly as she resumed a relaxed stance. _I should ask Strauss about it._

" _You should never let down your guard_ ," a deep voice commented and Zatanna spun around, finding a familiar white wolf behind her. " _One might never know who the true enemy is, especially among Kindred…"_

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. " _Per l'amor di dio_ Beckett, you scared the shit out of me," the Tremere swore at him and could've sworn a smirk was playing on his muzzle.

" _Not surprising, considering the lack of knowledge you possess with the Auspex discipline,_ " Beckett stated in a know-it-all tone that usually got on Zatanna's nerves as he transitioned back into his more…human appearance. "I assume you are finding out more about this…plague-bearer that has the kine ruffled up."

If there was one thing that Beckett seemed to bring out in Zatanna, was her sarcasm. Although the Gangrel himself is literally a walking dictionary of sarcasm.

"No, I thought I would take a lovely evening stroll, maybe munch on a few humans while I'm at it," Zatanna replied, her voice thick of sarcasm and displeasure.

Beckett raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on his lips. "Careful Tremere, your clan are not known to be sarcastic nor work with the anarchs."

"I wasn't exactly Embraced within the 'pyramid,'" Zatanna moved her fingers in quotation marks at the word pyramid before placing one back on her hip. "So I'm not expected to follow their traditions and Strauss is aware of my stance. Besides, I think we should address the elephant in the alleyway. Why were you following me?"

Beckett didn't answer as he walked towards her, staring straight out at the opening. "It seems someone has stolen the Ankaran Sarcophagus from the prince. I can't understand why someone would go through the trouble of stealing a box with a very ancient corpse—this city's not _that_ dull."

"I bet LaCroix isn't happy, which means I'll probably get a call from his soon," Zatanna muttered, not looking forward to it. She had better things to do than chase after someone who was mad enough to steal…well a box with an ancient corpse, as Beckett had put it. "You're an archaeologist, what's in the box?"

"My guess, from what I've read about it, is that it's a mummified Mesopotamian king," Beckett answered and gestured for her to follow him as he held out his arm. Zatanna linked her arm within his as they stepped into the street.

"Who would steal it?" Zatanna murmured to herself and Beckett let out a throaty chuckle, and from that sound, sarcasm was sure to follow…

"Interesting choice of words. Didn't _you_ steal it in the first place?" he questioned her, giving the Tremere a pointed look which she returned with a scowl.

Yep, there it was. Beckett was not a vampire who disappointed.

"Every supernatural creature in Los Angeles is suspect, including that Nagaraja in the abandoned hospital," Beckett continued and it took Zatanna a moment to realise he was talking about Pisha. Which was odd, because the item she was looking for in a museum wasn't the Ankaran Sarcophagus.

_But she was looking for another one in the hands of the Giovanni,_ she recalled and made a mental note to stop by and question more about this item to Pisha.

"You seem to know a lot about the Kindred in this city," Zatanna commented, raising a brow at him and Beckett ignored it.

"I am a scholar and a Noddist, I make it my duty to be aware of every little thing happening within our community," he replied in a tone that read, 'that-is-all-i-am-not-going-to-say-anything-else-so-drop-the-matter.'

"Ever heard of someone called Jezebel Locke then, oh knowledgeable scholar," Zatanna questioned, exaggerating on the title but it brought a brief, if not small smile to Beckett's lips before he returned to his usual expressionless face.

"Unfortunately, no that name has not come up," Beckett answered with a slight frown as they stopped in front of the Empire Hotel. "But I believe this is your stop."

"I'm a little freaked out by how you knew that," Zatanna told him, unlinking her arm from his and stepping back, heading to the door. "Take care, Beckett."

She expected a witty reply but when she had turned around, the Gangrel was gone as if he had disappeared into thin air. A little disturbed about the sudden disappearance act, Zatanna shook her head and headed inside.

Seeing as she had no idea which room Jezebel was staying in, a mundane method simply asking was in order as the Tremere walked over to the front desk.

"Yes?" the man at the counter glanced up from his computer and smiled in greeting. "May I help you?"

"Is there a guest here named Jezebel Locke?" Zatanna inquired politely, secretly patting herself mentally on the back for wearing black cuff jeans and a white, long sleeved shirt with a brown belt wrapped around her waist. She apparently chosen the right clothing considering he didn't look at her in disgust.

"Yes, Miss Locke is one of our more, umm, popular guests. Why do you ask?" he questioned and Zatanna smiled at him.

"I need a key to her room," she casually answered but the man shot her down.

"I can't do that. It's against hotel policy."

_Ben merda,_ Zatanna cursed in her mind, pulling out her best flirty smile and leaned on the counter, showing what cleavage she could in her outfit.

"Come on, give me a key, and later I'll give you some room service," she said suggestively, winking at him and he blushed lightly.

The man cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "Well, in that case, perhaps I can make an exception," he ducked under the desk for a moment before handing her a key. "Here is the key to her suite. Have a nice evening."

Zatanna gracefully took the key and smiled at him. "Thank you," she said before heading to the elevator. On the card hanging off of the key it said she was on the fifth floor as she walked into the elevator, pressing the floor number.

"And Samantha said I couldn't flirt," Zatanna examined the card with a self-satisfied smirk. At the mention of her close friend, she frowned slightly when remembering she could never have contact with her again. No more late nights with either Samantha or May…her two best friends since high school. No more getting drunk, picking a fight and ending up with May dragging her and Samantha's drunken asses to her apartment and stripping them to their bra and underwear because their clothes either ripped or had a beverage split on them.

This was a norm for Zatanna and when Nines told her she had picked a fight with a Sabbat, that didn't surprise her either.

A prick of sadness hit her just as the elevator arrived at the floor. Taking another quick look at the card, reading the number '4' printed in black type writing, Zatanna quietly walked down out of the elevator and towards the room.

After going through a large door, leading her to Jezebel's room, Zatanna used Auspex for a moment to confirm no one else was within the premises. She didn't exactly want to break the masquerade at this point.

Seeing no one else's auras bar who she assumed was Jezebel, Zatanna threw the door open and walked into the hotel room. First thing that came to mind was: Luxury.

"Oh yeah! Who do we have here?" a woman's voice purred as the Tremere stepped into Jezebel's line of sight. "Are you a believer, little morsel? Have you come for the kind of enlightenment only Jezebel can give?"

Now she found it ironic. A woman, named Jezebel who clearly enjoyed a sexual act or three, was acting like she was the Queen of Israel, a woman who had long been represented as a scheming, manipulative whore throughout history.

"I take it you're Jezebel Locke?" Zatanna asked, just for confirmation and Jezebel smiled flirtiously.

"Yes, I am Jezebel. And I have such things to show you, little morsel…such beautiful, dirty little things," Jezebel chuckled and gestured for her to come closer. "Won't you come into my parlour?"

She chuckled, still finding it funny as she closed the door firmly, locking it before crossing her arms over her chest. "So instead the Whore Queen of Israel, it's now the Whore Queen of Empire Hotel. Great choice of name, I must say."

Jezebel rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, now…don't deny yourself the pleasure of Jezebel's talents," she stepped closer to Zatanna and placed her lips to the Tremere's ear. "Just a few more steps and we can be enveloped by the sweet darkness, become slaves to the desires of our wasted flesh."

Disgusted, Zatanna stepped back and narrowed her eyes in displeasure. "Sorry, but I don't swing that way."

"Oh, you cannot escape me, little morsel," Jezebel said confidently. "One way or another, you and I will intertwine our beings into the Ninth Circle, and I will send you forth, full of the sweet sickness I carry."

"Cool idea, but you're _really_ pissing me off and making sure I stay on the straighter path of things," Zatanna said firmly and Jezebel glared at her, dropping the act as she pulled a knife out from the back of her pants.

"Then you shall die, little morsel," Jezebel hissed, lunging at her. Zatanna side stepped before grasping the back of Jezebel's neck. She went to perform the same trick she had done with Hannah but Jezebel hooked her foot around Zatanna's ankle and knocked the Tremere onto her back.

Pain shot up her back and Zatanna grunted before widening her eyes as Jezebel's knife buried itself into her right shoulder. The cold metal erupted more burning pain into the Tremere, blood pouring out as Jezebel stabbed her other shoulder, straddling Zatanna's hips.

It was one of those situations where one knows that either they do something or fight back or just lay down and die. A fight, flight or freeze response. Zatanna felt anger rise from the pit of her stomach, eyes burning red as Jezebel raised her knife and went to stab again, but this time, she had caught it. Yes, the blade cut her hand slightly but Zatanna was too pissed off, her throat burning with thirst as she felt the Beast crawling its way out of her subconscious.

_**Are we the prey?**_ The beast whispered in her mind as she pushed Jezebel back slightly before landing a kick in her stomach, sending the whore flying back and crashing into the red velvet sofa.

_**No, we are the hunter!**_ Zatanna bared her fangs.

**oOo**

_The feel of him inside her, rocking back and forth almost sent her over the edge. Lips crashing against her, his tongue exploring inside her mouth as he cupped her ass with his rough hands._

"Ti senti cosí bene, _" Zatanna moaned in his ear and pulled back slightly, gazing at his face, his blue eyes piercing her own brown ones._

"Non lasciare andare," _Nines groaned as he sped up in his thrusts._

_Zatanna tightened her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. "_ Mai _," she whispered, closing her eyes._

**oOo**

Disoriented.

If she was asked how she felt after her first frenzy, Zatanna would say disoriented would be the closest thing that came to mind. Her burning thirst was sedated, the Beast was quiet and there was not a single drop of blood in the room.

She sat up, registering that she was on the bed, touched her right shoulder and finding it healed, as well as her left shoulder. Frowning slightly, Zatanna looked over and saw a pile of ash close to the bed. Then it all came crashing back to her, the dream she just had with her and Nines. If her heart was still beating, it would be running a mile by now as her stomach fluttered at the thought of her and Nines…doing it.

" _Che diavolo era che circa?_ " Zatanna murmured to herself, lightly touching her head with her hand before sliding off of the bed. She gazed out the window, faintly recalling what Jezebel mentioned before everything that had happened.

_The Ninth Circle…I need to talk to Strauss,_ she figured, not familiar with the term as she quietly left the Empire Hotel. Zatanna needed to get to the bottom of this, after the impression Jezebel left on her, she knew it was no longer a simple plague bearer…but something darker.

As she walked in a quick pace to the chantry, the Tremere couldn't help but think back to that dream. It had felt so real, like a memory of some sort. She'd ask Nines for more information on it but she wasn't exactly on speaking terms with him.

_Stop it Zatanna, you've never let a man bother you this much before. Why start now?_ Zatanna scolded herself mentally. _You have much bigger things to worry about than a certain male's hot and cold tendencies. Like finding out more about this Ninth Circle crap._

Way to give herself a pep talk.

When the chantry came into sight, she took a deep breath to clear the unwanted thoughts before heading inside. It still stunned her at the level of magic kept within the walls of the chantry. Zatanna remembered the time she tried to walk up the steps, only to be sent back to the front door. When she questioned Strauss on this, he simply said that 'those who serve the clan as apprentices may walk up those stairs.' Considering she wasn't Embraced within the pyramid and didn't plan on exactly 'serve' the clan, Zatanna didn't care.

When she reached the door where Strauss usually resided in, the young Tremere didn't bother to knock as the doors opened automatically. Strauss was standing by the fire, in deep thought and looked over as she stepped into the room.

"Neonate, how may I help you?" Strauss questioned in greeting and she nodded at him.

"I have something to ask you," Zatanna answered as the doors closed behind her. "Have you heard of something called the Ninth Circle?"

Strauss looked at her in slightly surprise and interest. "Yes, the Nine Circles of Hell, mentioned in _Inferno_ , Dante's 14th century epic poem. Why do you ask?"

She sat down and explained to him about the plague going around, what she has witnessed, meeting Jezebel and her words before she had killed the whore. As she spoke, Strauss watched in slight interest and listened without saying a word.

Finally, Strauss spoke after Zatanna had finished recalling her investigation. "A cult of some sort, no doubt. This Jezebel you spoke of, represented the second circle—lust."

"I figured, since Jezebel in history was famous was being a whore," she agreed and rubbed her sore shoulder. Although the knife wounds were healed, she still felt slightly stiff. "Do you have a copy of _Inferno_?"

Strauss shook his head. "Unfortunately, the only copy we have is in Venice with the Inner Council."

A little disappointed, Zatanna stood up and nodded at him. "I'll try and see if I can find anything on the internet. Thanks again, Strauss."

"Anytime, neonate," Strauss replied as Zatanna headed for the door, only to remember something that had bugged her but after recent events, she had pushed it to the back of her mind.

Quickly turning on her heel, she looked at Strauss who was watching her. "Can a person's aura change?"

"In some cases, yes. There have been records of kine auras changing," Strauss answered but Zatanna shook her head.

"I meant a Kindred's aura," she explained. "Say for example, it's colourful and full of bright colours but changes to dark, shadowing ones and returns back to normal."

Strauss frowned slightly, rubbing his chin in thought. "Interesting…I have not heard of a recorded incident like that. Perhaps you were improperly using the Auspex."

Zatanna wasn't convinced but nodded and left the chantry.

**oOo**

**Day Thirty-Eight…**

**Location: Downtown Haven…**

It was half an hour before the sun had set and she had woken up an hour a go. After taking care of her needs, Zatanna began reading the _Inferno_ via internet and making notes.

Heather had dropped by while she was doing her investigation and questioned her on it.

"What research are you doing?" Heather questioned eagerly. "Can I help you in anyway, master?"

"It's Zatanna and no," the Tremere replied back firmly, gathering up her things, placing them into her light brown, Indian-inspired satchel and planned to head to the Last Round Bar to show Damsel what she had discovered. "I'm leaving now; just don't wander alone on the streets for a while. Okay?"

"Sure," Heather nodded brightly as Zatanna left, heading to the bar. Skelter greeted her with his usual nod.

"Nines ain't here tonight," Skelter informed her and she shook her head.

"I'm here to see Damsel," she told him, heading upstairs and finding Jack and Damsel having a drink. "Jezebel won't be spreading anything anymore."

"Good, but we dusted a second one over near the convention center," Damsel told her as she came closer to the table. "They're part of some doomsday cult, apparently."

"The Ninth Circle," Zatanna informed her, showing the female Brujah her notes and what she had discovered with her conversation to Jezebel before killing her. Jack watched them without saying a word. "Jezebel was the second circle: lust. There's no doubt in my mind there's more."

"No telling how many there are, but it's open season on all these sick sons of bitches!" Damsel swore, hitting her fists together as footsteps came up the steps. Zatanna looked up briefly before shooting her eyes back down to her notes, he stomach tightening with nerves.

"What's going on here?" Nines questioned as the female Tremere grew slightly uncomfortable with his presence. Not to mention the dream was running through her head at this _very_ moment.

"The Ninth Circle is what's going on," Zatanna murmured, refusing to meet his gaze as she continued and pointed to the seventh circle. "The cult is obviously trying to kill off the kine and make certain Kindred plague-bearers but they're doing it in different ways. Jezebel spread it through lust," she crossed off the second circle and pointed to three more she had narrowed down. "I believe there to be either two or three left with the reports I found and evidence."

Damsel looked over, reading the three circles highlighted in yellow. "Gluttony, heresy and violence…seems like something along those lines."

Zatanna smiled, gathering her notes back up. "Great, I'll go ask the homeless again and go from there."

"Be careful Cammy, let me know if you need back up," Damsel offered and she nodded, heading downstairs without looking at Nines in the eye. When she stepped out onto the street, she thought she was home-free until Jack and Nines caught up with her.

"Kid, I want you to take Nines with you," Jack told her and she opened her mouth to decline when her adopted sire gave her a firm look, making her close her mouth.

"If that's what you want," Zatanna muttered, turning on her heel and walking down the street, stuffing her notes into her satchel. The Anarch leader must have sensed her feelings as he kept a firm but close distance from her, walking behind her without saying a word. They walked towards the homeless woman Zatanna had questioned the other night but received no answer from.

The woman spotted her and sneered. "You bring me any money? Or are you still tryin' to steal my cans?"

Trying to not show her annoyance, Zatanna pulled out a twenty from her satchel and handed it to the woman, who inspected it to make sure it was authentic before nodding.

"Alls I know is that old Tin Can Bill, he's been jabberin' about some kind of monster that took him somewhere ands got him sick. And that's all I know, okay, and that's all I'm sayin'," the woman informed her and Zatanna nodded.

"Where is this Tin Can Bill?" she questioned, slipping back into her old habits when questioning clients.

The woman seemed to like this as she smirked. "Why, you can usually find him down in his alleyway, just across from that bar over there," she pointed and Zatanna looked over, finding the bar the homeless woman was talking about.

"Thank you," she bowed her head slightly, heading towards the bar which was in the same direction where Nines was standing. He watched her as she focused on the bar, not daring to look at him.

"You can't keep ignorin' me forever," Nines told her as she walked past him. Zatanna bit on her bottom lip, holding back a retort as she kept walking. Eventually, after walking past a few more sick homeless people, they located the elderly homeless man hidden in the dark.

Old Bill must have heard them coming as he squinted his eyes at them. "Is that you, Betty? I ain't got no booze tonight, so you may as well get the hell out of here."

"My name is Detective Ible, not Betty," Zatanna corrected him in a polite tone, quickly flashing her blank piece of paper before putting it back into her satchel. "I'm just here to ask you about what you know of this epidemic."

"Yeah…I might be able to," Old Bill scratched his chin lightly before covering his mouth, coughing slightly. "But I'm awful thirsty tonight, miss. Could you spare five bucks for a man who's been down on his luck?"

" _Questa è uno spreco di tempo,_ " Nines muttered further away and Zatanna shot him a look before digging into her satchel, grabbing five bucks and handing it to Old Bill.

"Here, now tell me what you know," she told him as he took it greedily.

"Now I know you ain't gonna believe Old Bill, because I been tellin' my friends and the cops and everyone since it happened, and people just say that it's the hootch talkin' and nothin' more," Old Bill warned her but she shook her head.

"Sir, this is a serious problem that I do not take lightly and neither should you. I'll be the judge of whether or not I find your story reliable," Zatanna informed him in a firm tone.

Old Bill didn't look convinced but nodded and began recounting his tale. "It was a monster, y'see! A monster with his face all twisted and ugly, teeth longer'n your finger, and these eyes—piss yellow and full o' hate," he shuddered as he recalled. "I never seen eyes like that before…still givin' me bad dreams."

Despite her mood at him, Zatanna knew she was still a newbie when it came to the Kindred and the clans and someone like Nines might know who Old Bill was describing.

" _È ci un clan con quella descrizione?_ " she asked him, turning and facing him with one hand on her hip.

"Nosferatu," he answered and she turned back to the homeless man.

"Anything else?" she asked and Old Bill nodded furiously, diving back in.

"He grabbed me, threw me over his shoulder, t-t-took me to the bad place…the dark place," Old Bill's face grew paler by the second as his eyes filled with fear. "Oh god, the smell…worse than anything I've—and then he bit me, my neck," he touched the place where he was bit. "Oh god, i-it was horrible!"

Old Bill shook his head, probably shaking off the thoughts as he coughed in his hand. "Don't remember too much after that; blacked out and woke up here in my alley. Haven't been feeling too well since then."

"Bill, I need to know where the monster took you."

Old Bill opened his mouth to answer when he suddenly coughed deeply and violently before recovering slowly. "Came up through the sewers, he did. Just around te corner there," he pointed. "Don't want to go back to the bad place, friend. Don't let the monster come back and take me there…"

"I won't," Zatanna promised him, hating to see how much pain he was in. "Just have a lie down, it'll be over."

Old Bill nodded, following her advice and laid down as she placed two fingers to his neck and used the blood to snap it, causing him to die instantly. As she closed his eyes and stood up, the Tremere noticed Nines already opening the sewers.

"Which one are we dealing with?" Nines asked, crouching down at the hole, gazing at it with a hard look on his face.

There was only one answer and for some reason, it frightened her more than anything. Maybe because she was going to be in it and _maybe_ because he was probably going to get hurt.

"Violence."

* * *

_Translation:_

_ Per l'amor di dio - For god's sake _

_ Ben merda - well shit _

_ Ti senti cosi bene - you feel so good _

_ Non lasciare andare - don't let go _

_ Mai - never _

_ Che diavolo era che circa? - what the hell was that about? _

_ Fermarlo, Zatanna - Stop it, Zatanna _

_ Questa e eno spreco di tempo - this is a waste of time _

_ E ci un clan con quella descrizione? - is there a clan with that description? _

* * *

_**Okay, here's something I would like to say in terms of the Tremere not really helping anarchs and what not. I read both the wiki and as some suggested WOD wiki (took me a moment to figure out what WOD meant. Got there eventually) and it does state that it is rare that Tremere involve themselves with Anarchs and I'm fine with that. In the game you can have nothing to do with the clan since you weren't 'Embraced within the pyramid' or you can kiss up to Strauss and become an apprentice.** _

_**Which I feel Zatanna wouldn't do considering she is strong-willed and stubborn...also doesn't like taking orders much. She didn't choose this life so she's still trying to keep as much humanity and freedom as she can at this point.** _

_**And I would also like to point out that Zatanna's morals go out the window when she's drunk, that means picking fights with people. My fault and error for not stating this earlier but hopefully I've corrected the boo boo within this chapter. So Zatanna Ible waking up either naked or in her underwear after getting drunk and feeling sore is normal for her since it's happened a bunch of times.** _

_**Rate and review if you liked it!** _

_**Song: Guren no Yumiya by Linked Horizon. For those who watch Attack on Titan, it's the first opening.** _


	9. Chapter Eight - Warrior

**Chapter Eight:**

**Warrior**

**Day Thirty-Eight...**

**Location: Downtown Sewers...**

She wasn't going to lie, crawling through sewers on the hunt for a vampire who was no doubt violent wasn't something Zatanna had planned for today. It wasn't even on her bucket list of things to do.

" _E puzza di merda dentro qui_ ," the Tremere muttered, holding her nose slightly as they walked along the make-shift bridge out of the water, having performed the lowest spell in the path of conjuring. Nines didn't complain as they walked. "It's times like these I hate the heightened senses."

"Why don't you block it out with a spell then?" Nines asked dryly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world as he walked ahead of her.

Anger flared within her as she glared at his back. "What do I look like? Merlin the fucking wizard?" she snapped at him and could've sworn Zatanna saw him flinch slightly.

_God dammit,_ she groaned in the back of her mind, feeling a little guilty for snapping at him but she was still pissed off beyond belief. After his attitude towards her, the way he constantly treated her like a child...she needed something to hold onto to. A reason to justify her anger and disappointment.

And then there was the dream from before...

She couldn't help but believe it was something more than a dream. All she needed to do was ask him for confirmation but her pride was the wall she refused to knock down.

They paused in front of iron bars, blocking their access and Nines got to work on picking the lock. While the Brujah male performed this task, Zatanna's eyes scanned the area, her nose wrinkling at the foul smell in the air.

The sound of a click drew her attention back onto him as he unlocked the way and she followed him without a word. Both of them were on their guard, Nines more than Zatanna. Soon, they arrived at a dead end.

" _Cazzo di fantastico,_ " Zatanna groaned, rubbing the bridge between her eyes and looked at him. "Any other ideas?"

Nines didn't answer as he spotted a small tunnel on the left, just big enough to crouch and crawl through. He jumped off of the make-shift bridge and wordlessly examined the tunnel before gesturing for her to follow. When he didn't hear her move, he looked up and saw the look of horror on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"There is no way in hell I am walking through contaminated water," she told him firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

He raised a brow. "What are you, a girl?"

She raised a single brow at him, giving him a pointed look and he sighed, rubbing his chin slightly. "I ain't asking you to drink the damn water."

"I don't care," she snipped, pointing to her black leather knee-high boots. "These are new boots and I don't fancy ruining them."

Nines growled with impatience as they stared at each other, a battle of will and submission. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Nines pulled out the ultimate card.

Guilt-tripping.

"More people could die and you're worried about your _boots_?" he stated and Zatanna bit her bottom lip, his words tugging at her sense of justice. Finally, she groaned in defeat and timidly climbed off of the platform, wincing as she stepped into the ankle deep water.

" _Ti odio,_ " she muttered under her breath but of course, the male Brujah heard it perfectly. He glanced over his shoulder at her as they began crouching through the tunnel.

" _Così fa il resto del mondo_ ," he replied, a tinge of bitterness hidden in his voice as they exited the tunnel. It was a concrete room with no exit except for a ladder heading up. Nines gestured for her to stay put as he climbed up, checking for anything unpleasant.

Zatanna sighed, tapping her foot impatiently before Nines told her to come up. She climbed the ladder, reaching another concrete room but this time, there was another tunnel but shorter, showing them a view of a larger room with stone columns, water running throughout. Further ahead, was a two step platform with a man hung, mirroring Jesus's crucification.

She spotted Nines giving her an expectant look from the corner of her eye and turned to him. "What?"

"Auspex," he answered and she blinked before realizing what he wanted.

"Oh, right," she quickly blinked, activating the discipline and scanning the area. The only auras that had appeared was the fading one of the kine man. "I can only see the kine's aura."

Nines jumped down below effortlessly as she deactivated Auspex, examining the area. As the male Brujah made his way over towards the kine, something caught Zatanna's eye. Frowning, she watched the water closely and saw movement within it, heading towards Nines.

"Nines! Behind you in the water!" Zatanna shouted, wanting to warn him as he reached the platform. Nines, upon hearing her voice, spun around and saw no one around. Without thinking, she blurted out: " _Neptune's Might: Nosirp fo retaw!"_

The royal blue pantegram lit up underneath the water, with a trident in the middle, as large bodies of water surrounded the invisible Kindred and bind itself around it, revealing the male Nosferatu.

She was both surprised and disgusted, surprised that the spell actually worked and disgusted by his appearance from what she could see.

"Holy shit, it actually worked!" Zatanna exclaimed, jumping down and landing in the water, running over to Nines who examined the watery prison. "Am I good or what?"

The Nosferatu snarled at the sight of her, struggling from the watery binds that held him in place. "When I get out of here, I will take pleasure ripping you apart, slowly...piece by piece."

Zatanna swallowed, a little distrubed as she turned away from those glowing yellow eyes. "I'll...get the kine down," she said quietly, heading over to the lever. Just as her hand touched it, the Tremere was exclaimed in surprise as Nines was thrown at the wall beside her.

The young Kindred turned in time to see the Nosferatu lunge at her. Zatanna ducked in time but was too slowy to avoid the punch landed to her torso. The sheer strength behind the attack had sent her flying towards the water and she landed with a small splash onto her side. Pain exploded in her chest as she winced, slowly getting the air back into her.

The sounds of struggle drew her gaze as she sat up, hands in the water and witnessed the fist fight between the two male Kindred. Both were equal in strength but what the Nosferatu lacked in Nines's speed, he made up by using the Obfuscate trait every now and then.

Already feeling slightly weak from the attack and her use in the spells and Auspex, Zatanna raised a hand shakily towards the Nosferatu. The lilac purple pantegram with the picture of a cacoon wrapped in vines appeared beneath her body.

" _Mastery of the Mortal Shell: Ogitrev,"_ Zatanna whispered, casting the low leveled spell of the path. A ripple of lilac light shot from the pantegram towards the Nosferatu. As it reached him, the light crawled up his legs, his torso before being absorbed into his head.

Immediately the spell began working as he seemed disoriented, unable to use his Obfuscate discipline. Nines, seeing the battle turned to his favour, landed an upper-cut to the disfigured Kindred before wrapping his head into a headlock.

Zatanna, knowing what was coming, forced herself to look away as she heard the deathly wail before being suddenly cut off. When the wails stopped, she returned her gaze and found a pile of ash where the Nosferatu had once stood. Her eyes landed on Nine's figure, finding his shirt a little ripped but nothing too major.

"You alright?" he called, jogging towards her and helping the Tremere onto her feet as she swayed slightly, a little dizzy.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured him, looking up into those blue eyes that haunted her. She stared at them, searching for a questionless answer, as if he held something within them. Catching herself, Zatanna cleared her throat, stepping back before heading over to deal with the dead kine.

As she lowered the kine's body to the ground, she felt the Brujah's eyes on her and she looked over.

_Cazzo, ho bisogno di sapere,_ Zatanna snapped at herself as she opened her mouth. "That night when we went clubbing...I never picked a fight with a Sabbat."

Nines's jaw clenched as she stared at him. "...No...you never did."

Zatanna didn't know what she was expecting. She wasn't thrilled that the truth was finally out in the open, but confused. Confused as to why he hid it and lied to her. Why he suddenly changed his attitude towards her.

"What happened?" she demanded of him, taking a few steps towards him until she was on the last step of the platform. When he didn't speak, she pressed on. "Nines, I deserve to know."

Nines glanced away, closing his eyes as his fists clenched at his sides. "...I raped you," he said so softly that if it weren't for Zatanna's heightned hearing, she would have missed it.

Frowning, the Tremere tried to recollect the dream and it didn't seem like rape. "Nines, that wasn't rape. I may not remember much, but from what it seems to me, it was consensual."

"Presence."

Now she was beyond confused. What did that discipline have anything to do with the topic. As if sensing her confusion, Nines looked at her with a look of self-disgust.

"I accidentally used _passion_. It may have seemed consensual but you didn't remember," he explained bitterly, as if he committed a crime. "In all sense, I raped you."

She shook her head furiously, taking a few steps forward but he stepped back. Hurt flashed through her eyes and into her chest. "Nines, alcohol may have played a part but you _never_ raped me. I wanted it as much as you did."

"That's just the thing, kid. You _think_ it wasn't because that's what Presence does and I can't taint you."

"I'm already tainted by being a vampire. What more damage can there be done?"

Nines shook his head, turning on his heel and began to walk away. "Look, go back to LaCroix and let us handle the Ninth Circle."

"Nines," she called after him, her theoretical heart breaking. "Nines!"

**oOo**

**Day Forty-One...**

**Location: LaCroix Towers...**

She wanted to be anywhere but there. If Kindred could feel stress, her levels would have been through the roof. Ever since that night, the Anarchs handled the rest of the Ninth Circle, with only Damsel or Jack coming to her for more information. A certain numbered man was nowhere to be seen from or heard.

"-Folly of leadership is knowing that no matter what you do, behind your back there's hundreds certain that their own solution is the sounder one, and that your decision was the...by product of a whimsical dart toss," Sebastian, as he wanted to be called by her now, droned on as Zatanna pulled herself out of her thoughts, focussing on his pacing form by the window. " _I_ pronounce the blast sentence and _I_ soak the critical fallout. I make the decisions no one else will. Leadership...I wear the albatross and a bull's-eye."

"Maybe if you made some good decisions every once in a while people wouldn't have anything to say," Zatanna told him and he looked at her, unimpressed.

"Then you can join the crows on the fence after we're done here," he replied in a dry tone and she mentally rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "The blood hunt on Nines Rodriguez for the murder of Alistair Grout will be called."

The Tremere's eyes widened in shock before she controlled herself. "What evidence do you have to support this?" she questioned and he looked at her in slight amusement.

"Reports and eye witness testimonies of him exiting Grout's manor the night he died. Something _you_ left out."

"I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to report anything other than almost burning alive."

Sebastian waved it off, as if it didn't matter what she said. "Rodriguez'z execution is only a matter of time. I have lit the fuse-if a war ignites, it's my head they will sharpen the pikes for."

"No one uses pikes anymore," she muttered under her breath as he moved onto the issue of the Ankaran Sarcophagus, while her mind was in a whirl of thoughts.

"I should have anticipated that treasonus maggot," Sebastian shook his head with bitterness in his voice. Well, whoever this was, Zatanna knew she had to make a friend out of him.

"Mind telling me just who the _cazzo_ Gary is?" the young Tremere asked as he began pacing again.

"The Nosferatu primogen," he answered and she swallowed. After her latest run in with a Nosferatu, she wasn't too keen on seeing them again.

_But if it's to help Nines,_ she thought as Sebastian continued.

"-were responsible for finding out where the sarcophagus was taken after the Dane, and for getting keys to the museum. They were the only ones who knew!" he sighed tiredly, obviously blaming himself. "It's obvious to me now, my mistake."

He paused in his pacing and stared at her. "I want him found! The sarcophagus could be...exploited...causing who knows what catastrophe to this city. If it were to fall into the wrong hands..."

_Ho una brutta sensazione su questo ..._ Zatanna thought as she uncrossed her arms, placing them on her hips. "When you say, 'want him found,' you mean me, I'm assuming."

Sebastian didn't look as happy about it either. "The Nosferatu lurk in the filth below the streets of Hollywood, but not even I know just where they hide," he pulled a sour expression. "Hollywood is, unfortunately lacking in any Camarilla loyalities..."

_My heart almost bleeds for him,_ a sarcastic thought rang through her mind and she had to stop the urge from rolling her eyes.

"Hollywood's baron is an anarch named Isaac. Isaac's more civil than the anarchs dowtown, but...nonetheless, he wears his mistrust of me on his sleeve. He may know how to contact the Nosferatu..."

Hope rose within her at the mention of Isaac being an anarch. She knew she had to get this guy on her side and fast if she wanted to help Nines with the blood hunt. You know, after she warned him about it...

"-Find Gary and get him to talk. That sarcophagus could be used against us. Do not come back until you have it. Now, I must announce the blood hunt-and bear the brunt of all consequences," he gestured fro Sheriff. "Escort her out."

Zatanna shook her head. "I can escort myself out," she told him firmly, not wanting to be man-handled by the fucking gorilla Kindred behind the prince as she walked out on her own.

As soon as she left the building, Zatanna made a beeline straight for the Last Round. Each step she had taken, more panic had rose within her until she almost ran into Skelter.

"Whoa, Little Italy, you gotta watch where you're goin'," he caught her and she shook her head.

"Where's Nines and the others?" she demanded as he released her.

"Nines is out of town for some personal business," Skelter answered and she ran up the stairs, finding Damsel and Jack playing poker.

Immediately, both of them saw something was wrong.

"You alright kiddo? You look like someone hit ya with their car," Jack said in mild concern as she shook her head furiously.

"LaCroix has called a blood hunt for Nines," Zatanna answered and looks of horrified fury were planted on every single one of their faces. "The bastard thinks Nines is behind the murder of Alistair Grout."

"What proof does this asshole have?" Damsel demanded as the Tremere ran a hand through her hair.

"Testimonies of eye witness's," she answered. "I don't exactly know the law of the Kindred, but for the kine, that's enough to start an investigation...and what's even worse," her eyes fell to the ground in shame. "..I saw Nines there as well. Ran into him actually."

"Explain," Skelter barked from behind and explained she did. She told the three of them Nines's strange behaviour, his aura changing.

Jack patted her shoulder, a tired smile on his face. "You did good, kiddo. We'll make sure to get the word out to Nines to keep away from the city for a while."

"He could maybe take refuge with Isaac," Damsel thought out loud as Zatanna sighed tiredly, exhausted.

"I'll track down Beckett and get him to pull a favour for me," the Tremere announced wearily, standing up. "I won't see you guys for a while."

"Where's the bastard sending you now?"

"Hollywood to speak with Isaac and track down the Nosferatu. LaCroix thinks it was a man named Gary that stole the sarcophagus and wants me to find its location," she answered, waving them goodbye and leaving the bar for the last time in a long time.

* * *

_Translations:_

**_E puzza di merda dentro qui - It smells like shit in here._ **

**_Cazzo di fantastico - Fucking fantastic_ **

**_Ti odio - I hate you_ **

**_Così fa il resto del mondo - So does the rest of the world_ **

**_Cazzo, ho bisogno di sapere - Shit, I need to know_ **

**_Ho una brutta sensazione su questo - I have a bad feeling about this_ **

**_Cazzo - fuck_ **

* * *

**Song: Warrior by B.A.P**

 


	10. Chapter Nine - Making My Way

**Chapter Nine:**

**Making My Way**

**Day Forty-two...**

**Location: Hollywood...**

Zatanna stepped out of the taxi, the cold evening air kissing her cheeks as the driver grabbed her red suitcase from the boot.

"Thanks," she tipped him and watched him drive off as she stood on the side-walk.

"Ain't seen you before," a male voice addressed her and she turned, finding a guy with sunglasses on behind her. "And if I haven't seen you, neither had Isaac, so that's your next stop."

Annoyed at yet _another_ order, she glared at him. "And you might be?"

"Isaac's in the jewelry store at the end of the street. Consider yourself invited," he ignored her question before walking off. She glowered at his back, half tempted to...do something horrible to him but then remembered she was in public.

_I don't have time for this,_ she thought, shaking her head and heading to the jewelry store pointed out to her. The sooner she greeted Isaac and asked for sanctuary for Nines, the sooner she could track down Beckett. At the moment, finding Gary was the last thing on the Tremere's mind.

She saw the front entrance closed and frowned slightly. Zatanna looked through the window, finding no lights on and no one inside. A frustrated sigh passed through her lips as she walked towards the alleyway, finding a brown door at the end connected to the shop.

Figuring it to be the back door entrance, the Tremere walked towards it and knocked on the door a few times. When no response came, she opened and walked inside.

Inside, she found herself in a lavish office with a man sitting behind the desk at the back of the room, eyes focusing on pieces of paper in front of him. Zatanna figured it was Isaac as he glanced up briefly from his work.

"Good evening, neonate," he turned his focus back onto the papers. "I've been expecting you. Seems the wooden soldiers of the Camarilla shuffle in a little too often these nights. That baby-faced, two-bit prince LaCroix got something to say to me?"

Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest, raising a brow at him. "You tell me. One of your goons directed me here."

Isaac mirrored her expression, rubbing his chin slightly. "Very courteous of you to stop by. All Kindred that enter my domain are expected to introduce themselves. It may seem like an outdated formality, but it serves its purpose," he informed her.

"And what purpose would that be?"

"It gives me the opportunity to personally welcome visitors to my domain. It also helps to establish an understanding in advance, so that there are no unfortunate accidents when they are in town."

The young Tremere thought about it and saw why LaCroix hated him; he was an intelligent guy when it came to formality.

"So, what sort of 'understanding' is there going to be between us?" she questioned curiously.

Isaac cleared his throat before his face darkened with a serious nature. "Call me old-fashioned, but this is my barony, and as tradition, a token of respect must be paid."

"What do you want?" Zatanna asked, already feeling like she was going to have to track someone or become his errand girl for a bit before she got what she wanted.

"What I want is a simple exchange. Last week I paid for a certain item-a movie, and this evening I got an email saying that the seller is ready to deliver it," Isaac pulled a sour face, obviously displeased with something or someone. "Unfortunately, he's become paranoid all of a sudden."

"Won't meet me in person, won't drop it off, won't even answer his phone. Says he'll send the location of the pickup to a computer in the nearby internet cafe," he paused and looked at her expectantly. "You see where I'm going with this?"

She did, unfortunately.

"You want me to make the pick up," Zatanna stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

He gave her a satisfied nod, glad she wasn't a moron. "Go to the Ground Zero internet cafe, look for a directory named 'Josefk' and and use the password 'Kafka.' There will be an email in there that will specify a nearby location. Meet the contact, pick up the item, come back. Not too painful, right?"

Zatanna saw there was no other option than to carry out Isaac's wish and sighed tiredly before giving him a hard look. "I'll do your little errand. Then we'll discuss my issue."

"Excellent," he clasped his hands together, giving her a warm smile. "In the meantime, consider yourself a welcome guest in my barony. Welcome to Hollywood."

"Thank you, Isaac," Zatanna shook his hand politely before turning on her heel, leaving her suitcase by the door and waled out of the barony. The night air was a warm welcome as she breathed it in before setting off down the sidewalk.

As she walked passed a restaurant, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Zatanna?" Samantha's eyes widened in disbelief as she ran over and hugged the young Tremere with all her mundane strength. "Oh my god! Everybody was worried sick about you! When you didn't show up for work and didn't call and nobody knew anything about what happened to you," Samantha sniffed, pulling back slightly as tears filled her eyes. "We all thought you were dead! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zatanna reassured her, checking the time on her watch before looking around the area. She needed to tell someone she was fine, already her friends and family were devastated by her sudden disappearance.

That was what hurt the most, in her opinion. The fact that she never got to say goodbye, she never agreed to this life and yet she had to send her old one off on a mysterious farewell and none of her loved ones were there to see it.

"Sit down with me for a moment," she suggested to Samantha who nodded eagerly, wanting to get the information out of her best friend. The two women took their seats outside the restaurant and Samantha ordered a slice of chocolate mud cake and offered to buy Zatanna one but she declined.

"Whoa, something must be wrong if Zatanna Rosemaria Ible is saying _no_ to a piece of cake," Samantha commented and the said woman rolled her eyes. As soon as the waiter left, Samantha's light brown eyes narrowed in on her. "So? Where the hell have you been? And why haven't you been answering anyone's calls? Do you know how worried May and I were? Your parents?"

The neonate was silent for a few moments, trying to push away the guilt that stabbed at her not-so-beating-heart.

"It's hard to explain but...let's just say I'm not the old me anymore," Zatanna chose her words carefully before forcing herself to smile. "In fact, you could say I underwent a complete transformation."

Samantha stared at her in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me? You want to make a joke _now_ of all times?" she fumed.

" _Mio Dio_ Samantha, I wasn't making a joke. I'm serious," Zatanna snapped at the Hispanic woman in front of her just as Samantha's cake arrived. The young Tremere waited until the waiter was gone to continue. "Look, I saw some shit on the night May and I went out and now...I'm part of something like a witness protection thing."

"May said you left the club with some guy."

"And saw some things I shouldn't have seen," Zatanna saw her friend was about to enquire further as to what she had seen but shook her head. "It's better that you don't know what. Trust me, I'm already putting you in danger by talking to you."

Samantha snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "What kind of danger are we talking about?"

_The kind that turns you into a fucking vampire and throws you into the middle of some kind of civil war,_ she thought dryly but shook her head. "Just eat your damn cake and listen to me."

The Hispanic complied, grabbing hold of her silver tea spoon and digging into her chocolate dessert.

"First off, you _cannot_ tell my parents that I'm alive or even May at this point. Not until I've talked to her and discussed it with her," Samantha nodded. "Second, don't look around for me, it'll draw attention to yourself. I'll just give you my private number."

Zatanna grabbed Samantha's phone and added her number to her friend's phone book. When she handed it back to her, her eyes glanced at the time and she knew she had to get going.

Standing up, Zatanna gave her friend a sad smile. "And lastly, I'm not the girl you once knew anymore," she added before walking off.

"Wait! How will I find you?" Samantha called, standing up as the young neonate turned back and looked at her. She could tell by the clear worry and fear that the Hispanic was afraid the Tremere would disappear again.

"I'll call you," she promised before walking off, a single tear running down her face.

**oOo**

**Day Forty-Two...**

**Location: Alley Behind the Fast Buck...**

Zatanna stepped into the dark, deserted alley. Instantly, she could smell the human blood and hear their heart pumping furiously from fear. Wanting to scope things out, she hid behind a wall and merely observed the human guy.

He was looking around, paranoia coming off him like bad BO. Wanting to get this over with so she could wrap her head around the idea of keeping Samantha and possibly May into her life, Zatanna stepped out and revealed herself.

"Are you the guy with the tape? Isaac sent me," Zatanna called, walking towards him calmly.

"Ye-Yeah," he nodded but then quickly shook his head, his face scowling in anger but his eyes still held the immense fear. "I-I mean what? Who the hell is Isaac?! I don't know anyone named Isaac! Get lost bitch!"

The Tremere rolled her eyes with impatience and held out her hand expectantly. "Look kid, I know about the tape. Just give it to me and then you can go and jerk off to cheap porn," she snapped in annoyance.

But he didn't let up and even denied profusely.

"Tape? What tape? I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about," he took a few steps back. "I-I'm gettin' the hell outta here."

"Fine, I'll just inform Isaac you wouldn't give me what is rightfully his."

He hesitated and paused in his step back before letting out a huge sigh, seeming defeated. "Alright, s-sorry. It's just that...I mean, something is...I just want out of this whole thing. I don't want anything to do with that damned tape."

Curiosity peaked her interest. After all, she assumed it was just a tape but the measures this guy has gone through and the fear of the tape is clearly evident on his face, has gotten Zatanna interested.

"Why? What's going on?" she questioned, a hand on her hip and closer to the semi-automatic Colt M1911 pistol strapped to her side. At the insistence of Jack, Zatanna had bought herself a gun and a gun holder strapped to her thigh before she left for Hollywood.

"I don't know," he saw her raised brow. "I mean, when it comes to video, I've seen everything and I do mean _everything_ -but this thing, it's sick. I-It can't be real, but...I know it is! I know it, it's real and scares the hell out of me."

Zatanna let out a bitter laugh, seeing the irony of the situation. "I know how you feel. Lately, I've seen a lot of things you wouldn't believe."

"The tape...something just ain't right man! And now...something's wrong...something's after me!" he looked at her desperately. "I swear to God something's after me!"

She grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard. "Calm the fuck down and _giuro su Dio_ you can go if you give me the tape."

He shook his head frantically. "I don't have it. I stashed it someplace. You need to find Ginger Swan's," he paused as something scurried further ahead in the alley. "Oh shit, did you see that?"

"Stay back," Zatanna warned him, stepping a little further ahead, pulling out her handgun. Her eyes narrowed at the dark, watching the area closely with her guard up.

"I'm getting the fuck out of here," he swore, running past as she paid him no mind. It wasn't until she heard his scream did she turned her back from the alley and run towards the scream.

Zatanna's eyes widened as she saw him missing and only the sewer lid slightly opened.

_"Che cazzo sta accadendo?_ " The Tremere whispered in horror, realising this was turning into something bigger than picking up a tape.

**oOo**

**Day Forty-Three...**

**Location: Isaac's Barony...**

_A dark mist covered the ground, making her feet non-existent as it surrounded the area. Golden Egyptian hieroglyphs flashed through the mist and disappeared before reappearing, resembling lightning._

_In the middle of the hieroglyphs, were a pair a blood red eyes glowing and watching her._

_"Tu enim coepisti neonate. Antequam incipit gehennam ..." a deep, crispy voice hissed at her._

Her eyes flew open and she sat up immediately, breathing hard and fast. Her back was covered in cold sweat, something she didn't think was possible for a Kindred.

" _Va tutto bene, solo un sogno, solo un sogno_ ," she murmured to herself, as if it were to calm her down. Not wanting to go back to sleep, Zatanna checked her phone and saw she had a missed call from Samantha.

Without even giving it a second thought, she dialed the number and pressed the IPhone 4s to her ear. It rang a few times before it went straight to voice-mail.

" _Hey this is Samantha. I can't come to the phone right now because-Z! Put that down!"_ the Tremere could hear her laugh in the background, along with the familiar giggle of May. " _Dammit you two, now you've fucked up my voice-mail shit. Just leave a message."_

When it beeped, Zatanna opened her mouth. "Hey it's me. I told you I would call you and I will...at night though. The protection thing doesn't want me to call during the day or some shit. So I'll call you tonight," she hung up the phone before climbing out of the bed Isaac had provided for her.

_It's only twenty minutes until six...might as well get ready,_ she thought, putting on a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a white square-neck shirt. Remembering last night's activities with a shudder, the neonate grabbed her gun belt and attached it to her thigh before throwing on her black princess coat and tied her hair back into a low bun.

As she walked down the steps, one of Isaac's goons met her halfway.

"Isaac wants to see you now, don't keep him waiting," he sneered, walking past her as Zatanna glowered at his back. She was growing tired of being ordered around.

"Asshole," she muttered, heading down stairs, striding into Isaac's office as the man in question stood behind his desk, staring at the monitor in front of him. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I wanted to apologize for my behaviour towards you last night," he answered, giving her a soft look. "It was a reflex action. I get a lot of young blood in here forgetting their place. I will assist you as reasonably as I can with your task. But first..."

"You want to look at the tape," she finished for him as he pressed play. Zatanna stood next to him, arms crossed over her chest.

The screen fizzed for a moment before showing a girl running desperately up a flight of stairs, running away from some kind of mutated two legged creatures with sharp claws and teeth. She had burst into a room and slammed the door shut behind her with her back pressed against it.

Zatanna's eyes widened and she covered her mouth as she watched in horror whilst the girl sobbed for help. The camera moved to another two creatures on the bed in the room as they jumped and attacked her, ribbing out her neck with their bare teeth.

The screen turned black and was replaced with a three-eyed skull with eighteen tentacles around it with the words 'Death Mask Productions' underneath.

Isaac turned it off, appearing a few shades paler than before as he swallowed hard. "It's more disturbing than I was led to believe," he stated before turning towards her. "You can understand my concern now, can't you?"

"It's alright, it's not like I wanted to sleep or eat later," she replied sarcastically, raising a brow at him. "Why the hell did I need to see that?"

"It just so happens that around the time this snuff film started circulating, the Nosferatu disappeared," he answered her grimly. "I tried to elicit their help in tracking down the source, and for the first time in all these years, I was dismayed by their absence."

"How do you usually contact them?"

"Usually I just put the word out I'm looking for them, and sooner or later, they appear."

Zatanna crossed her arms in front of her, staring down hard at the ground. "So you think this tape has something to do with their disappearance."

"I assume it does; it's awfully coincidental otherwise. And those creatures," he visibly shuddered at the memory of the horrendous creatures from the tape. "I don't know how many professional FX houses could pull those off."

"Get one of your boys to handle that," she told him and held up a hand as he tried to speak. "No, I've done your tribute and now it's your turn to help me."

Isaac sighed tiredly. "If it's the Nosferatu, I cannot help you."

"No, I couldn't care less about what LaCroix wants me to do. Right now, I have a bigger favour to ask of you," she said firmly, staring straight into his light brown eyes with her own green ones. "I want you to provide sanctuary for Nines Rodriguez."

Isaac seemed surprised for a few moments before the corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile. "An Anarch? Your clan don't exactly sway from the Camarilla side of things."

"I'm not an Anarch, I just don't approve of a man hunt against a friend for a crime he didn't commit," she informed him of everything and even Isaac was disgusted by LaCroix's methods. "So will you help me protect him?"

He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes searching hers for some kind of truth or secret. Finally, after a few silence minutes, he opened his mouth.

"You love him...don't you?"

Zatanna was stunned with his statement and went to shake her head but paused and thought about it. She didn't exactly love him per say, but she cared about him deeply.

_Even if he's not exactly speaking to me,_ she thought ironically and sighed. "I...I care a lot about him. More than I should."

Isaac nodded in approval of her answer. "Very well, I will grant him sanctuary here in my barony if you do me one more favour."

"I refuse to get the rest of the tape."

"No, I know when to not pursue a chase," he chuckled before sobering up and giving her a firm look. "It involves a...Gargoyle. It's taken up residence in my beloved Asian theater. I sent some people to evict it, and it sent them back with a few less limbs. I can't have that monster attacking Kindred in my city."

She held her hand out as he handed her the key to the theater. "How exactly am I supposed to get rid of it?" she questioned, having known what a Gargoyle was from her lessons with Strauss.

"It's a walking block of stone with a taste for blood-I'd suggest whatever method doesn't result in you being eviscerated. I'll leave it up to you."

* * *

**Translations:**

_**Mio Dio - My god** _

**_giuro su Dio - I swear to god_ **

**_Va tutto bene, solo un sogno, solo un sogno - It's okay, just a dream, just a dream_ **

* * *

**_Song:_ Making My Way by...I honestly can't remember who to tell you the truth. Anyway, enjoy and leave a review if you want :)**


	11. Chapter Ten - Ghost

**Chapter Ten:**

**Ghost**

_**Day Forty-Four...** _

_**Location: Hollywood...** _

_How am I supposed to deal with this?_ Zatanna wondered, meandering down along the sidewalk. Isaac's description of the Gargoyle living in the Asian theater did nothing to reassure her. The very thought of destroying it made her wonder the true limit of her own abilities.

It wasn't like she was degrading herself but reality had hit her hard. She had _yet_ to prove herself to those around her in terms of fighting supernatural beings. She hadn't impressed herself and therefore, unlikely to impress her peers.

A vibration in her front pocket pulled her from the absent thoughts plaguing her mind. Pausing in mid-step, Zatanna pulled out her phone and saw she had a text message from Rosa.

Rosa was a clairvoyant thin-blood in Santa Monica. When Zatanna had been working down there for LaCroix just after her Embrace, she had come across the thin-bloods who were just as scared and as confused as she was. The group had found companionship with the newly Embraced neonate and she helped them with some things.

Since then, Rosa had sent text messages to Zatanna of cryptic messages that she honestly had no clue to what they were. Like this one.

_~The Lone Wolf searches for the Lady Rogue while the stone warrior is awaiting in Asia.~_

She pinched the bridge of her nose, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she pocketed her phone once more. Past messages from the clairvoyant had always involved code-names for people. As far as she was aware, Beckett was the Lone Wolf, LaCroix was Prince With No Crown and she was Lady Rogue.

So Beckett was looking for her. There was not a single doubt in her mind that he wouldn't find her. The _dannatamente_ Gangrel knew where she would be or was before even she knew it herself.

_I'll wait for him to come to me,_ she decided, rubbing her throat slightly as the burning sensation returned to her. It was that time, the one she hated the most.

Scanning around, Zatanna found a suitable prostitute standing by a corner, obviously waiting for someone to hire her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she marched over and tapped the blonde girl's shoulder.

The prostitute turned around and raised a brow at her in disgust. "I don't _do_ chicks," she sneered, as if she had standards.

_And yet, you'll let anyone check out your backyard,_ Zatanna thought at the irony, mentally rolling her eyes as she gazed straight into hers. Feeling the familiar buzz in the back of her mind, she summoned the energy for the Dominate discipline. " _Follow me to the alley behind us."_

A haze fell on her eyes as the prostitute nodded slowly. "Let's go to the alley behind us," she slurred, following Zatanna into the alley behind where they had stood. As the prostitute stood silent, still under the influence of the discipline, the neonate made sure no one was looking before quickly grabbing her neck and sinking her teeth in.

She drank the warm, metallic liquid that riveted down her throat until the burning sensation died down. When she drew away, the first thing to check was the prostitute's pulse.

Zatanna placed her on the ground, her back slumped against the wall as she knelt in front of her. Lightly placing her fingers on her neck, a small pulse was beating steady as the blonde woman fell unconscious from the bite.

Assured that she hadn't killed her and broken the masquerade, Zatanna stood and turned her focus to the street down the alleyway. As she stepped back out onto the street, a small breeze ran through her red hair and she stopped short. Her fingers lightly touched the hair that was part of her identity...when she was human.

_Maybe it's time for a change,_ she figured, sighing quietly and gazed up at the full moon.

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Four...** _

_**Location: Asian Theater, Hollywood...** _

She unlocked the door, using the key Isaac had given her before quietly, entering the abandoned theater. There was nothing but ruined walls, debris and planks of broken wood.

Cautiously, Zatanna skulked into the middle, examining her surroundings as a shadow caught her eye. She glanced down at the ground for a split second before jumping back as a stone, Terracotta warrior inspired thing crashed into the ground.

It stood up and glared murderously at her. " _ **Kindred invader!"**_ it roared as she took another step back. " _ **Monster! I will smash you, crush you, tear the flesh from your bones**_ **!"**

"Steady there, I'm only here to talk," she told him calmly, despite the fact that she was secretly shitting herself. "May I approach, _guerriero di pietra?_ "

" _ **Talk**_ **?** " he spat in disbelief. " _ **No! Always Kindred are talking, scheming, hurting others with their lies! Monsters, you all! Abominations! A curse upon the earth!"**_

Zatanna placed her hands on her hips. "You think I wanted to be this?" she demanded, gesturing to herself.

Okay, sure, it was a bad idea to fire back at the stone thing that would no doubt kill her but she couldn't take what it said lying down.

"I had a...pretty decent life until forty-four days ago when some asshole decided, 'hey, I got something to show you' and then fucking bites my neck and turns me into a blood sucker!" she ranted, running a hand through her hair as she paced a bit. "And not only that, I was going to get killed for no reason. Then I was forced to blow up some warehouse, _almost_ got killed for that too by the way, then go swimming in the ocean because the boat I was on drifted away! I've been almost burnt, attacked, almost raped, rejected and forced to drink blood. _Blood_!"

She halted in her pacing and pointed her finger at him. "So if you want to call me an abomination, go ahead. But never, _ever_ call me a liar. _Sto stato chiaro?_ "

It fell silent for a few moments, watching her in interest as her face fell in realisation. She had just yelled at it...but it felt good. Good to rant to someone and finally get it all off of her chest.

"I apologise for...well...that," Zatanna said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I shouldn't have done that."

" _ **Kindred is not like the others...maybe you can free me,**_ " it hissed and she frowned.

"Free? Are you trapped or bound to something?"

" _ **Maximilian Strauss bound my blood to his black heart. Stole my flesh and turned it into stone,**_ " it growled in hatred at the man and Zatanna's eyes widened. It saw the recognition in her eyes and bared its stone teeth in warning. " _ **You know of this demon?"**_

Sadly, she nodded. "I know him...I just never thought it was possible to do this to someone," she reached out before pausing. "May I approach?"

It said nothing and she took that as a yes, stepping closer before placing her hand on its stone chest. The danced along her senses and she felt the magic behind this spell.

"I am still young and don't have the knowledge to free you entirely," she murmured quietly, regretfully before looking up at him. "But I do know of a spell to switch your body from this stone one into another. Perhaps a bird or a dog if you wish."

" _ **It is better than nothing...as long as I am free from that demon and the rest of the Kindred!**_ " it barked, not intentionally but out of a force of habit, something she understood.

"Then perhaps I could be of assistance," a familiar, sarcastic voice offered as Zatanna turned around, finding Beckett by the door. The gargoyle growled at the threat, taking an intimidating step forward.

"He's a friend, don't worry," she reassured the stone warrior who refused to take its eyes off of the Gangrel. "Beckett, what do you have?"

"A dead bird," he answered, holding out a dead Snowy Owl. "Your thin-blood associate informed me that I would be in need of this. Now I understand what she had meant."

Zatanna met him halfway, taking the owl's body gently in her hands as she stared up into his yellow eyes. "Will this work?" she asked him quietly, doubting her skills a little.

"That all depends on you, neonate," he answered, handing her a piece of white chalk. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and laid the owl down in the necessary position.

She instructed the stone gargoyle to do the same as she began to draw a pentagram around them with the white chalk. Ancient Greek symbols, along with a few chinese characters to acknowledge the place where the spell would take place, were drawn along the outside of the pentagram.

Inside, was a small star in the middle of a full moon.

When she had finished drawing, Zatanna gently bit her finger and drew blood. As the gargoyle stood opposite of the dead owl, the neonate began to chant the spell.

" _Selene dea, te precor, hanc animam accipere libertatem commutatione sanguis. Sinite noctua corpus anima incolae. Ut fiat, fiat ut sit ..._ " Zatanna chanted as the pentagram lit up in a bright, white light. She closed her eyes, allowing the drops of her blood to hit the chalk.

Her body was filled with electrical pulses, a burning sensation running across her right arm as the energy was sucked out of her body like a vacuum cleaner.

Suddenly, like a rubber band pulled to far, it all snapped back at once and she gasped, falling to her knees as her legs gave way. Gasping for air, she stared at the chalk as the gargoyle's previous stone body crumbled into debris and dust as the owl slowly stood up, flapping its wings.

" _Benedicta es tu,_ " she breathed, exhaling slowly as arms steadied her from behind. The chalk was slowly absorbed into the wooden planks as the owl hopped towards her, its yellow eyes staring at her. "How do you find your new body?"

" _ **Better...I feel...liberated,**_ " it said, the voice no longer harsh or deep but small and polite. " _ **You have my deepest gratitude, Kindred.**_ "

She gently stroked its head before allowing it to test its wings and fly out of the Asian Theater, without looking back.

"You need blood, that spell drained you significantly," Beckett informed her, helping her onto her feet as she leaned on him for support. "But you did well, for a neonate."

"Thanks," Zatanna murmured tiredly, closing her eyes.

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Five...** _

_**Location: Isaac's Barony...** _

His reason for helping her was unclear and Zatanna questioned as to why Beckett sought her out in the first place. Many questions and so few to answer them.

Like why the fuck was her hair brown?

It wasn't until she was throwing her hair back into a low ponytail did the neonate realise it was no longer the bright, orange-red it was. No, now it was a dark, brown-black colour.

_I'd have to ask Strauss when I get the chance...or Beckett might know something,_ she figured, doing the buttons to her light brown duffle coat, her grey turtle neck shirt and black tights.

When she arrived downstairs after finding herself presentable, Beckett and Isaac had ceased their conversation and turned towards her.

"Beckett, why the hell am I a damn brunette now?" Zatanna demanded, pointing to her new hair colour.

Beckett just looked at her calmly. "That was the exchange you had made to Selene upon doing the spell. Some of your life force had to be offered in order for the soul to transfer bodies."

"Since when did hair have life force?"

"Always, young one."

She scowled at him slightly as Isaac chuckled, watching their exchange with a smile on his face.

"I admit, I thought you'd come back here with a stone foot lodged in your backside," the baron of Hollywood admitted as she came to stand next to Beckett. "But I am glad to see you've proved otherwise. You've got a lot of promise -it's a shame you're working full time on the wrong side."

Immediately, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a cold stare. "I work for no one," she hissed at him. Isaac stared a her for a few more moments before nodding.

"I have a lead on the Nosferatu's location, I suggest you take it as part of your investigation," Isaac informed her. "Go to the sewer entrance behind the Fast Buck. The Nosferatu will find you from there."

"And the favour I need of you?" she pressed, knowing he understood what she had meant.

"You have my word."

Satisfied, she looked at Beckett before heading out of the store, back onto the streets of Hollywood. The Gangrel joined her momentarily, hooking his arm through hers once again.

"So you were looking for me," Zatanna stated as they walked past a strip club. "What for?"

"I was made aware of the blood hunt called for Nines Rodriguez and Sebastian LaCroix's sudden decision to send you away to Hollywood," Beckett began informing her. "My suspicions were raised and decided to investigate as to why you were sent."

She glanced at him, a smirk on her face. "Just admit you care about it."

"You mistake caring for entertainment."

No reply came from her as they arrived at the Fast Buck. Wrinkling her nose at the idea of _another_ run in the sewers, Zatanna prayed that it would go better this time.

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Five...** _

_**Location: Nosferatu Hideout, Hollywood...** _

Beckett had left her to go pursue another matter of his, no doubt finding she was well. Before he had left however, she asked him to do her a favour and watch over Nines as best as he could.

_"You are putting yourself in a position where I expect something in return, neonate," Beckett smirked in interest at the idea of her owing him something later down the track. "Does this Brujah mean a lot to you?"_

_"He means something to me," Zatanna answered before climbing down into the sewers._

As she walked past a door, finding the hangout not as bad as she had assumed, a Nosferatu in punk style appearance stood by the doorway, watching her.

"Hey, you're that new Tremere kid," he commented as she stopped and looked at him. "Hotter than I had pictured, Lady Rogue."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Mildly disturbed and flattered at the same time. I'm looking for Gary."

"Yeah, he knows why you're here. LaCroix must be pissed. But I hope you're not here looking for some payback. LaCroix knows better than to mess with Gary, sheriff or no sheriff," he warned her and she rolled her eyes. "The names Mitnick by the way."

"Zatanna Ible," she introduced herself, reaching out and gently shook his hand before withdrawing it. "I've got bigger things to worry about than LaCroix's beef with Gary. I just want to talk with him so where is he?"

He pointed his thumb to the double door at the end of the hall. "His room is just down the hall. You'll find him there," he smirked slightly. "Or maybe he'll find you."

She turned her eyes onto the door pointed and waved goodbye at Mitnick, heading towards the doors without another word.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Italian -**

**_dannatamente - damn_ **

**_guerriero di pietra - stone warrior_ **

**_Sto stato chiaro - am I understood?_ **

**_Latin -_ **

**_Selene dea, te precor, hanc animam accipere libertatem commutatione sanguis. Sinite noctua corpus anima incolae. Ut fiat, fiat ut sit ... - Selene Goddess, I pray you, save this life to receive the freedom of the exchange of blood. Let owl body soul rest. In order to be the case, he may become ..._ **

**_Benedicta es tu, - Blessed art thou_ **

* * *

**Now, someone stated that the game was made in 2007. I did not know this but I have not stated a specific time year this is set in. Also, the fact that Zatanna would not blurt out random Italian words under stress because she would have trained herself to control it as a lawyer is half true. But she is no longer human and has experienced things WAY out of the ordinary so therefore, the stress has tripled compared to a courtroom.**

 

**Song: Ghost by Ella Henderson**


	12. Chapter Eleven - Keep On Dancing

**Chapter Eleven:**

**Keep On Dancing**

_**Day Forty-Five…** _

_**Location: Nosferatu Hideout, Hollywood…** _

The first thing she noticed was the long table in the middle of the make-shift, underground room. Then the two skeletons dressed up; a man and a woman.

" _By the clack-smack cracking of my thumbs, something wickedly powerful comes this way,"_ a mysterious, croaky voice hissed through the shadows, setting Zatanna on edge. " _I don't remember seeing you on the guest list for the dinner party…"_

Zatanna swallowed the lump in her throat. "I didn't realise there was meant to be an invitation. I was under the impression that you were already expecting me," she responded in a cautious tone.

A soft laughter echoed through the barley lit underground room. " _Cast and crew only boss."_

She was blind; having no visual on which she assumed was Gary. This did not bode well with the neonate and she growled in frustration. "Show yourself, _ombra demone._ "

" _Maybe I'm in your head, Lady Rogue."_

Zatanna rolled her eyes at the stupid nickname that seemed to be common knowledge amongst the Nosferatu.

"I just want to talk to you."

" _We are talking. But you aren't listening, boss."_

She clenched her fists at her sides, taking a calming breath before surveying the room with caution. "All right, fine. I'm listening, Gary. I'm just here about the Ankaran Sarcophagus."

" _You don't say,"_ Gary hissed in a sarcastic tone, his voice closer to her left. " _Wake up, boss! Who do you think you're dealing with? Why else would LaCroix send you on this snipe hunt?"_

A chill ran down her spine as his breath was against the left ear. " _Oh, that's right….I know you work for the prince."_

Zatanna spun around, glaring around the room. "I work for no one," she spat angrily.

" _You're a long way from home, and neither Nines nor Isaac have any domain down here. Tread carefully,"_ he warned her and she frowned before her eyes opened wide.

"So you know everything then."

" _You're neither with the Camarilla, nor with the Anarchs but you believe in their cause more,"_ he chuckled in a dry tone. " _You have entertained us…of course we'd keep tabs on you, boss."_

Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest, her jaw clenched. "I'm glad to have done so. I believe it's common courtesy to show yourself since you have seen me."

Gary seemed to pause. " _Are you sure, boss? You don't want my image in your subconscious. It's the stuff nightmares are made from."_

"I've already seen two Nosferatu in my newborn days. It won't bother me, I can assure you," Zatanna said quietly, sympathy for the hideous appearances of the Nosferatu. She could only imagine the amount of rejection they receive from the other Kindred due to their appearances.

" _Behind you, boss,"_ Gary whispered as she turned around, not reacting as he had expected.

"Thank you," Zatanna bowed her head politely before placing a hand on her hip. "Now where's the sarcophagus?"

"Where, where, where did it go? That thing gets around more than Mae West," he mused before studying her. "Why, might I ask, should I give _you_ that information?"

Well, fuck.

She honestly had nothing to bargain and Gary saw this. He chuckled at her obvious dilemma before clicking his tongue and waving a finger in front of her.

"I know where the prize is, there's nothing that doesn't get leaked down here. Tell me, boss, have you ever gone up against a Kuei-jin?"

"No, but I know what they are," the Tremere answered, frowning slightly. Beckett had given her the information in exchange for what she had uncovered when the Ankaran Sarcophagus was under her protection.

They were vampires but not like the Kindred. They were shape-shifting assholes from the east and not to be messed with.

"They've got it, don't they?" she questioned and he shrugged his shoulders, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'd place my bets on that, boss. You see, I sent an agent, Barabus, to snoop around in Chinatown…do a little hacking, make a few contacts…but he hasn't been calling lately, and it's breaking my heart," Gary informed her bitterly, glaring at the floor as if it caused him some sort of pain. "You go to Chinatown and get him back and I'll tell you what you need."

Zatanna's shoulders sank a little, a tired sigh escaping her lips. "I'm everyone's errand girl, huh?"

"Only because you do it _so_ well."

"That's not exactly a comfort."

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Five…** _

_**Location: Isaac's Barony, Hollywood…** _

Isaac hummed, his chin resting on his hands as he sat at his desk inside the jewelry shop. Upon her return, the Baron of Hollywood had questioned her on the situation. The young neonate informed him of her meeting with Gary and where she was off to next.

"The Kuei-jin are not to be trifled with, Miss Ible," Isaac sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Zatanna was currently sitting in one of the red, velvet arm chairs with her legs hanging off of the side. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yes, because I've had time to scheme to my heart's content," Zatanna responded, sarcasm dripping out of her teeth. Isaac just looked at her, unimpressed with her response as the door behind them opened.

She glanced over her shoulder, only to fix her gaze at the floor in an effort to hide her face with her long, brown locks.

"Isaac what the hell is going on?" a familiar, husky voice snapped at the baron. "I get shoved into a taxi by Jack and dumped here. You better have some explaining to do."

Isaac regarded her for a moment before turning his gaze back onto the Brujah. "For your own protection, you are to remain here."

"What the fuck is going on?"

She couldn't take it anymore; hearing his voice after nearly a week….after the way he had just _left_ her alone in the sewers the way he did. Her mind reverted back to his last words:

_I accidentally used passion. It may have seemed consensual but you didn't remember. In all sense, I raped you…_

_That's just the thing, kid. You think it wasn't because that's what Presence does and I can't taint you…_

_Like I wasn't already tainted,_ a bitter thought passed through her mind as she stood up.

"There's a blood hunt on you, by order of the Camarilla prince, LaCroix," Zatanna informed him, keeping her back to him as he fists clenched at her sides.

"Who the hell is this?" Nines demanded and Isaac glanced at her again, a questioning look in his eye. She gave him a slow nod of her head and Isaac's eyes flickered back onto the Brujah.

"An ally of mine and a friend of yours I believe," Isaac answered Nines as she slowly turned around, facing him.

His eyes widened.

"Zatanna? What the hell happened to you?" Nines whispered and she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the back of the chair.

"I freed a gargoyle," the Tremere answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She noticed the slight bags under his eyes. "You look like shit."

Nines shook his head, still trying to process as to why she was there. "Why are you here?"

"I had some business to take care of," she answered before walking past and headed for the door. "Thanks again, Isaac."

**oOo**

Nines watched her go before narrowing his eyes at the baron. "Why was she here in Hollywood?"

"What makes you believe that I am aware of her business here?"

The Brujah's face twisted into a scowl. "Because _you_ of all people wouldn't let someone working for the Camarilla into your territory. You hate them just as much as I do."

The corners of Isaac's mouth twitched slightly as he inspected Nines with amusement in his gaze. "And yet, you seem to be friends with her…close even."

When he made no move to agree or deny the baron's statement, Isaac sighed. It was clear to him that they cared for each other but something was preventing them from expanding on their feelings. Whether it were something horrible or their own stubborn behaviors separating them; Isaac could not help but pity those around the Brujah and Tremere.

"She had requested for you to be brought under my protection," Isaac explained, standing up from his desk. "Do not let her request be in vain, Nines."

Nines didn't say anything as he watched the baron leave.

* * *

**Translation:**

**_ombra demone_ \- shadow demon**

**Song: Keep On Dancing from Barbie and the Pink Shoes. Do not judge.**


	13. Chapter Twelve - Gekkou no Symphonia

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Gekkou no Symphonia**

_**Day Forty-Six…** _

_**Location: Downtown Haven…** _

She stepped out of the taxi and glanced up at the pink sky. Honestly, it was cutting it a _little_ _too_ close this time. Without a word, she turned back and paid the driver before heading up to her haven.

As she opened the door, finding it empty with no sign of Heather, her time in Hollywood came back to her. Those creatures, the scared look in that kid's eyes, running into Samantha, saving the gargoyle….seeing Nines once again…dealing with Gary.

_For the city of stardom, it was pretty horrible in Twinkle Town,_ Zatanna thought tiredly, locking the door and throwing her satchel onto the couch. She removed her shoes and released her hair from its ponytail, allowing it to flow freely down her back.

The brunette closed her eyes for a few moments, focusing on her breathing and making it steady before heading for the shower. She allowed herself ten more minutes than usual as she sat on the floor with her back up against the cold tiles.

Zatanna played with the water, using a bit of Neptune's Might Path just to allow the water to dance around her fingers and hand. It was a very weak level of usage but it distracted her nevertheless. Closing her eyes, her mind wandered back to her lessons with Strauss on the elements within Thaumaturgy.

" _Water is the element of change," Strauss informed her, standing in front with his hand over a small bowl filled with the clear liquid. "It does not stay in the same place, an element that constantly flows and quickly adapts to any situation."_

_The Neptune's Might pentagram appeared underneath the bowl as some water shot up into Strauss's hand and circled around it. Zatanna watched with wide eyes, staring in awe at the magic performed in front of her._

" _As calm as it can be, water can also become dangerous. Hence, it is the element of change," he continued to explain as the water slowly lowered into the bowl and the pentagram disappeared. "This path is limitless and can be expanded if one has the power and mindset to do so."_

Zatanna dropped the water and stood up, turning off the shower and drying herself off. Once she had showered and brushed her damp hair back into a braid, the brunette wandered over to her bed and proceeded to collapse and fall into a deep slumber.

**oOo**

" _ **Ad prædam Numquid tu?**_ _" the deep, raspy voice hissed in her ear as Zatanna stood in the middle of a dark room. A golden, halter-neck dress adorned her body, covering her feet and leaving her back and arms bare. Her hair was out in its bountiful curls whilst a silver, metal headband was visible on her forehead. In the middle, was an opal shaped white crystal. "_ _ **An tu iam venatori?**_ _"_

_Golden hieroglyphs circled around her, torches flicking on along the walls and revealed them to be stone. Zatanna's eyes widened as she looked around before her eyes fell upon a tomb a few meters in front of her._

_The Ankaran Sarcophagus._

" _ **Quando mundi desinit, ardens in flammas interminatis ...**_ _" a claw held onto her shoulder tightly, digging into her skin. "_ _ **Quid facies?**_ _"_

_For some reason, she understood the words in the back of her mind and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Clenching her fists at her side, she stared at the item that had many of the Kindred fighting over at the moment._

" _Io salverò quelle innocenti," she murmured before turned her head back to glare at the owner of the claw. All she could see were red eyes staring back into hers, into her damned soul. "Io liberare coloro che sono stati fatto torto._ _Ed mi fermo il mondo dalla combustione."_

_It hissed in anger and dug its claws further into her shoulder until she cried out in pain._

Her eyes shot open as she sat up immediately. Her back was cold and sweaty and her breathing was fast and uneven. And that wasn't even the scary part.

Blood seeped from her shoulder.

" _Cazzo!_ " the brunette cursed, pressing her hand against it in an attempt to stop the blood flow. In haste, the Tremere performed the Thaumaturgical Surgery spell and repaired her damaged shoulder. Zatanna swallowed, shaking off the fear of the situation and went to the bathroom to clean the blood off.

By the time she returned, the sun had disappeared over the horizon and it was once again night. It was time for her to head to Chinatown…

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-seven…** _

_**Location: Chinatown...** _

Zatanna stepped out of the taxi and paid the driver before watching him drive off. She knew what she had to do, but her mind was still relaying the dream from earlier. How intense it had been, how she awoken with the same wound inflicted in her dream.

_Beckett will have answers for me,_ she figured since the Gangrel was knowledgeable in all things related to the Ankaran Sarcophagus and anything history related. Before leaving for Chinatown, Zatanna had sent word to Ming-Xiao that she would arrive in her town since it was custom to do so. Something she had learnt with Isaac.

It was all politics to her anyway.

She arrived at the temple and walked into the garden, finding it holding up the stereotype of Chinese gardens as she went over the small bridge. As she climbed the small steps leading to the shrine, the doors opened on their own.

_Like this wasn't already creepy enough,_ the thought crossed her mind as she strode in, bowing her head lightly at Ming-Xiao.

"Welcome, Kindred, and thank you for respecting our traditions by announcing your presence in our domain," Ming-Xiao inclined her head in respect. "I am Ming-Xiao, High Priestess to the people of Chinatown. Can I get you anything? Tea, perhaps?"

Zatanna smiled politely. "No, no tea, thank you," she declined as Ming-Xiao waved away a servant that appeared in the doorway.

"Oh? Then how may I help you?" the priestess questioned as Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm looking for a Nosferatu vampire last seen around here," the brunette informed her, keeping a close eye on her reaction. Ming-Xiao was good as her eyes never gave anything away.

"So, the great Nosferatu have lost an agent, have they? It was not by my hand, if that's what they think," Ming-Xiao replied snippily, sauntering over to the window that gazed out to the small garden.

"Do you have any idea of where he could be?"

"I don't know where he is. Perhaps you should speak with Wong Ho about this."

Zatanna ran a hand through her fringe, sighing mentally. "Who exactly is Wong Ho?"

Ming-Xiao turned away from the window and fixed her jade-green eyes back onto the Tremere. "Wong Ho owns the Red Dragon restaurant. He is a prominent businessman, who has garnered much respect among his people. If something is amiss in Chinatown, he may know how to help you."

She found herself nodding, having an idea of where her investigation would take her next and bowed slightly to Ming-Xiao. "Thank you again for your assistance."

"You are certainly the most respectful underling of Prince LaCroix I have dealt with," she smirked, slightly amused before waving her off. "I grant you permission to operate in the Kuei-jin domain…for now. May you find your path, Kindred."

Zatanna nodded and left the shrine, heading back out onto the streets of Chinatown. The moment she was far away from the shrine, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out. 'Nines,' name appeared on the screen and she hesitated for a moment before declining the call.

She honestly had nothing to say to him. Her mind was confused on their relationship and where she stood with him. Besides, there were more pressing matters for her to attend to.

No delaying a single moment, the Tremere rambled along the sidewalk in search of the Red Dragon. Eventually, she found it and headed inside. The entire place was a beautiful mixture of a classic Chinese restaurant and a mafia bar.

After being directed to the elevator, Zatanna discovered a distressed Wong Ho.

"They took her, they took her!" he wailed into his hands, collapsing onto his knees on the floor. Immediately she rushed to his side and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Who did they take?" Zatanna asked the distressed Asian man.

"Kiki, my daughter," he answered as his hands shook. "They grabbed her. They called and said Wong Ho has meddled with Tong for the last time!"

She grabbed his hands and stared into his eyes. "Calm down Wong. You're not going to help her in this state of mind. Take a few deep breaths," she instructed him and he complied.

"My name is Zatanna Ible and Ming-Xiao sent me in hopes that you can assist me in something. But from the looks of it, you could use my help instead."

Wong Ho laughed bitterly after calming down slightly. "I highly doubt you can go up against a gang."

"Do not judge a girl by her look," she replied, showing him her concealed gun belt, her semi-automatic Colt M1911 pistol snugged tightly into the belt. She helped the man to his feet, giving him a firm look. "Who are the Tong you mentioned?"

"The Tong…a local street gang here in Chinatown just broke into my restaurant and kidnapped my daughter at gunpoint," he explained the situation to her, looking more and more dishearten with each word. "The Tong grow more bold every day, and now they have my Kiki."

Before he could continue speaking, his phone rang. "Excuse me for a moment," Wong Ho muttered, leaving the room as he answered it. It didn't take long as he returned a moment later with relief in his eyes.

"Was that the Tong?"

He shook his head. "That was…someone who owed me an old debt. It has been repaid. I know where the Tong are keeping my daughter. She is being held at the Lotus Blossom, a massage parlor here in Chinatown. If you bring her back to me—"

Zatanna held up a hand. "Consider it done. I'm someone who is more into justice than debts and favors."

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-seven…** _

_**Location: Lotus Blossom, Chinatown…** _

Zatanna roundhouse kicked the last guy in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby wall and knocking him unconscious. Around her, lay the other five men who had found her and they too were out cold.

" _Bambini idioti_ ," Zatanna rolled her shoulders, walking over a few of the bodies before marching towards the locked door. " _Kcolnu."_

The lock broke at her words and she threw the door open, scanning the room for any more men before entering. She found whom she assumed was Kiki trapped behind some wooden boards nailed to the wall.

"You bitch!" she shrieked before coughing. "I can't….I can't breathe in here!"

"Then you're lucky I'm not leaving you in there," Zatanna snapped at her, already having the young girl getting on her nerves. She stood before her, ready to break down the blanks when Kiki began interrogating her.

"Who are you? You're not with the Tong."

"Your ways of deduction astound me," the brunette replied sarcastically. "I'm here to rescue you since you father sent me."

Kiki rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sooo impressed. What? Like, you want me to like thank you or something? In your dreams, bitch," she sneered in distaste as Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her now.

"Keep talking like this and I'll leave your ungrateful ass in this closet," she growled in warning and Kiki quickly stopped talking. Satisfied, Zatanna broke the wooden blanks and grabbed her Colt, walking ahead of Kiki down the hall.

"Oh my god, are they dead?!" Kiki cried out, seeing all of the unmoving bodies on the floor and blood.

Once again, she rolled her eyes. "No, they're unconscious," she informed the young woman as they walked out of the massage parlor with ease, since every member that could harm them was currently unable to move.

As they walked, Kiki in silence after she had been intimidated by the brunette, Zatanna grabbed her phone and dialed Beckett, after learning that the Gangrel possessed a phone.

Seeing her surprise the Kindred snippily informed her that he made it his business to be kept up with the times, no matter where he was.

After a few rings, he answered. " _Neonate, a surprise for you to call me. How is your dealings in Chinatown?"_

"Fine if you count rescuing a girl from a mundane gang," Zatanna replied as they arrived at the Red Dragon. Kiki went straight in without a word as the brunette continued to stand outside and speak. "Tell me, how good is your Latin?"

" _As well as you can expect. Something of interest?"_ he asked, obviously curious as to what she had to bring up that topic.

"Could you translate something for me? I'll send it via text message since I don't know who can be listening," she answered and he hummed in agreement at her caution. Briefly, she brought up the messages and texted the Latin she had wrote down in her small black note book. "Let me know what you got from it."

Beckett chuckled darkly, as if amused. " _You continue to grow your debt to me, Lupa. Soon I'll be around to collect it."_

She rolled her eyes at his nickname to her. "She wolf? And here I thought you were more creative than that. I'll talk to you later," she hung up before heading inside.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Latin -**

**_Ad prædam Numquid tu?_ _\- Are you the fool?_ **

**_An tu iam venatori? - Or the hunter?_ **

**_Quando mundi desinit, ardens in flammas interminatis ... - When the world ends, burning in the flames of endless ...  
_ **

**_Quid facies? - What will you do?_ **

**Italian -**

**_Io salverò quelle innocenti - I will save those innocent_ **

**_Io liberare coloro che sono stati fatto torto. Ed mi fermo il mondo dalla combustione. - I release those who have been wronged. And I'll stop the world from burning._ **

**_Cazzo - Fuck_ **

**_Bambini idioti - Idiot children_ **

**_Lupa - She wolf_ **

* * *

**Song: Gekkou no Symphonia by Akino and Aiki.**

 


	14. Chapter Thirteen - Passion/Sanctuary

**Chapter Thirteen:**

**Passion/Sanctuary**

_**Day Forty-Seven…** _

_**Location: Red Dragon Restaurant, Chinatown…** _

Wong Ho was hugging his daughter tightly by the time Zatanna entered the room. It was a touching scene to witness and she knew how much he cherished his daughter just by the way he held her.

"My friend, I owe you a debt of gratitude!" Wong Ho rejoiced, pulling his daughter closer to his chest and murmured something to her in Cantonese. Kiki nodded and quietly left the room without speaking another word. Zatanna watched her leave before turning back to Wong Ho. "You are a woman of great courage and honor. Thank you."

Zatanna smiled. "You're welcome, now did you ever find out why they took her in the first place?" she questioned, placing a hand on her hip.

His shoulders slumped and he shook his head. "No, I have not been able to find out why they took Kiki, but I fear that it goes much deeper than the Tong."

_Like the Kuei-jin,_ she thought, biting her bottom lip lightly. Since her trouble at the mansion, Zatanna has always been on edge when concerned with other Kindred whom she did not trust. Heck, she was even wary of the others at the Last Round Bar as of late.

"For a long time, I have been trying to clean up Chinatown," Wong Ho informed her, gesturing for her to take a seat. Together, they sat down, across from each other as the business man began telling her his story. "It was a difficult job, but the community came together and we started to take back our streets from the criminals like the Tong. Businesses re-opened, families moved back into their homes."

Zatanna snapped her fingers, recalling this case quite vividly. "I remember, I helped prosecute the gangs captured. They're currently in jail doing twenty-five minimum on numerous charges."

"Then you have my gratitude once again, Miss Ible," Wong Ho bowed his head slightly, smiling brightly. "Many of us had heard the great lengths those gangs went to stay out of jail; including threatening you and the detectives involved with the arrest."

"A dangerous job but as long as I could put those men behind bars, it was worth it," she replied before frowning. "But I thought all members of the Tong had been arrested."

"Yes, I thought so to but then something happened. Their numbers began to grow and suddenly they had a lot of money to buy weapons," he explained tiredly, as if becoming exhausted just listing it. "With them followed the drugs and the violence."

"It's almost worse than before," Zatanna whispered in horror, closing her eyes and letting out a shaky breath. "I would offer to help immediately, but—"

"You are busy, I understand," Wong Ho held up a hand, a look of understanding planted on his face. "Already you have done so much for this community and my family; I cannot ask you to do any more."

Guilt gnawed at her conscious as she took his hand, shaking it before bowing slightly at the waist. "If I could, I will help you in any way I can in the future. You have a friend in me," she promised before heading for the door.

"Wait!" Wong Ho called out and she paused, hand at the door. "A man called Zhao can help you."

She smiled to herself before leaving the office.

**oOo**

It was so obvious that it made her want to cry.

The moment she had stepped out of the Red Dragon, Zatanna sensed someone following her. When she passed a convenience store, three people were pursing her. A funny feeling and instinct told her it was no doubt the Tong who probably weren't happy with her rescue mission.

Deciding to confront them once and for all, Zatanna took a sharp left into an alleyway that led to an abandoned lot behind a few buildings. Like a moth to a flame, three gangsters were drawn out as she calmly stood in the middle, waiting.

"Why were you following me?" Zatanna inquired them, keeping a hand close to her gun. She wasn't afraid to shoot them if it came down to that.

"Boss ain't happy with the stunt you pulled," one of them spat, stepping closer and pulled out a hand gun, pointing it at her. "So we gotta clean up the mess you made. Starting with you."

"You don't have to do this," she pointed out, eyeing each of them carefully. "Violence only encourages more violence."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to put our buddies away either," another sneered, lighting up a cigarette and inhaling it deeply. "Just get it over with."

Zatanna was just about to grab her gun when a low, threatening growl could be heard from behind her. She turned and saw bright yellow eyes glowing in the darkness before stepping into view.

A large, grey wolf stood beside her, snarling in warning at the men who looked beyond terrified. The one holding the gun shakily pointed it at the wolf, only to have it shot out of his hands by Zatanna who had quickly raised her gun.

"You bitch!" he swore, clutching his bleeding hand as she aimed her gun at his head.

"I suggest you leave before I sick this wolf on you," she warned, watching as the three of them scrambled away, leaving her and the animal beside her. Zatanna placed her gun back in her belt, raising a brow at the wolf. "I seriously hope that's you, Beckett."

The wolf shifted into human form, answering her question.

"Thanks but I could've handled it," she crossed her arms over her chest as he fixed his glasses.

"Indeed, but time is of the essence," he responded vaguely, causing her to raise an eyebrow at the Gangrel. "Tell me, have you had any other visions similar to the one you had described to me?"

She paused, thinking hard about it before slowly nodding. "Before I freed that Gargoyle."

Beckett stared at the ground before glancing back at her. "This all began _after_ you stole the Ankaran Sarcophagus, correct?"

"It's not like I wanted to," she quickly defended herself but more or less agreed with his question. "What, you think it's haunting me now?"

When he didn't answer, her eyes widened. If Beckett thought that whatever was in that damn sarcophagus was haunting her, then she believed him without a doubt. After all, he hadn't led her astray as of yet.

"You…you can't be serious," she whispered as he reached out, cupping her face in with his hands. She stared up at him, trembling slightly at the idea of some ancient power coming after her. "What do I do?"

" _I'll_ find out more and hopefully a solution to contain the situation will arise," Beckett answered calmly, but she could sense how tense he was. "You'll finish whatever business you have here before returning to Hollywood and staying with Baron Isaac."

Zatanna nodded as he frowned and turned his gaze to her stomach, narrowing his eyes before shaking his head and pulling away. "Beckett, be careful."

"Always, Zatanna," he replied before disappearing into the night.

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Eight…** _

_**Location: Zhao's Imports….** _

She stepped through the back door and closed it, finding the place empty. Jogging over to the red staircase, she climbed up to the small office above and knocked on the door before entering.

"Wong Ho called," Zhao stated, keeping his back to her. "You're looking for someone. Hmmm…"

"Yes, that's correct. Do you have any information on his whereabouts?" Zatanna asked, wanting to get this over and done with as Beckett's theory hung over her head.

"I don't know where your friend is, but I know the Tong are involved. The leader of the Tong, Johnny, he'll know where they are."

"Where can I find Johnny?"

"Johnny's at Glaze; it's his club. You'll need a password to enter. The password is '725.' There will be Tong everywhere. Johnny's office is upstairs," he informed her and she made a mental note.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Can I ask why you're helping me?"

"I am a man of my word and I owed a debt to Wong Ho. By paying that debt, I have made an enemy of the Tong, who I once belonged to," he answered as voices shouted from below. Turning around, Zatanna looked out the small window and witnessed numerous members of the Tong gang enter the warehouse. "You should leave now."

"And leave you to deal with that?" she scoffed, shaking her head as she grabbed her gun, pressing herself against the wall. Bullets flew and shattered the window, glass flying everywhere. "I don't think so."

She aimed down her sights and proceeded to shoot as many members as she could from her vantage point, along with Zhao. When the remaining few quickly found cover behind boxes, she narrowed her eyes.

" _Gift of Morpheus: Ssam Remuls_ ," she whispered under her breath and was surprised to see all of the remaining Tong gang members collapse and become unconscious without the appearance of the pentagram. _What in the world…_

"Wong Ho said you were a woman of courage and honor," Zhao pulled her attention away from the surprising use of her Thaumaturgy. "You have my gratitude and respect. Thank you."

"It's fine, but I suggest you leave Chinatown for a while," she muttered, walking out the door. As she walked past the unconscious and dead bodies, she wondered just what had happened to her.

_What is happening to me?_

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Eight…** _

_**Location: Club Glaze…** _

She had scouted the area before going for a stealthier approach to enter Glaze; by taking the back door and quietly sneaking up stairs. As she got closer to the second floor, Zatanna activated her Auspex discipline and saw three men in the area, one of them patrolling.

She waited, crouched low as he walked past and followed him, staying as close to the shadows as she could. Finally, when she reached the door, she snuck in and locked it.

Standing up straight, she murmured a quick soundproofing spell one of the apprentices had taught her during her time at Strauss's manor before slamming the door open.

Johnny spun around, clearly taken off guard at the appearance of her. "Who the hell do you think you are bitch? You know who I am? You know where you are? You want to die?"

Zatanna raised a brow. "Death doesn't scare me in the slightest," she answered in a dry tone, thinking how ironic his last question was.

"'t the fuck do you want, huh? Who are you?" he shouted, expecting his guards to hear his raised voice.

"Information," she responded, walking towards a chair, picking it up and threw it at the wall beside him. The strength behind it caused the wood to shatter, effectively scaring the living day lights out of Johnny. "I've been led to believe you kidnapped someone and I want them back."

"Who told you that? Ho-how-how would you know about that?" Johnny stammered, shrinking back until his back was against the wall. "Who are you? Answer me!"

She spared him a glance. "I'm going to ask you one more time—"

The flat screen TV behind Johnny suddenly turned on, with a shadowed figure on the screen. "Don't tell it a thing, Johnny. Shoot it!" the figure barked but Johnny spun around and focused on the TV.

"You told me that guy was a nobody! Just what the hell did you get us involved in?"

Instead of answering, the figure chuckled. "Shoot it. You'll find out."

Johnny reached for his gun as Zatanna held out her hands to cast a spell but something else happened entirely. Johnny froze to the spot, in the same position.

Her eyes widened as she slowly lowered her hands.

"You have to kill him," the figure spoke, snapping her out of her shock and she narrowed her eyes. "It's part of your code for survival—covering your tracks, so to speak. And before you attempt to deceive me, you should know I'm monitoring your heat signature…it's room temperature."

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I also must protect my true identity. You may refer to me as 'the Mandarin,'" he introduced himself before clearing his throat. "You are searching for one of your kind, I understand. I have him at my facility. Come to the Fu Syndicate building…we'll discuss terms of release."

"I'll be there," she said as the screen switched off and she turned her attention towards Johnny. Without waiting for another moment, she grabbed her gun and shot him in the head.

Johnny collapsed onto the ground, blood oozing out of his head and she covered her nose.

"What's happening to me?" she wondered, turning on her heel and walking out of the room.

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Eight…** _

_**Location: The Fu Syndicate…** _

The lobby had no mortal inside, completely empty and eerie quiet.

Zatanna kept her guard up and she cautiously walked into the open board room, finding the Mandarin on the flat screen.

"So glad you finally decided to show up," he sneered and she glared at him. "If you want to meet your comrade, walk through those doors."

She snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "No, you bring him out here and _then_ we'll discuss terms of release," she told him and he rubbed his chin.

"Subject will not enter the next area," he spoke but not to her…was he _studying_ her? "This may be due to a theoretical sixth sense, or perhaps it is simply afraid."

"Are you stubborn by nature or instinct?" he asked, now addressing her and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm smart enough to know there's a trap of some sort, _voi stronzo ignorante_!" she snapped, having enough bullshit for one night.

"Step through the doors."

"No."

He shook his head. "Subject refuses to move to the next chamber. I assure you, your comrade is still alive. If you want him released, you'll do as I say."

She growled and stormed into the chamber, hearing the doors slam shut and lock behind her before the platform began to ascend.

"I am told you are a rather resourceful individual. This should make you a most intriguing specimen," he praised as she stared straight ahead. "You and your kind may play mortals for weaklings and fools, and that may be fitting for some, but you underestimate me."

As soon as the platform reached its destination, she noted two figures behind the window in front of her.

"Subject is female, appearance suggest early to mid-twenties, true age unknown," the Mandarin's voice echoed throughout her small, metal room as blue liquid began spraying into the room, covering her. "As with the other, there are no vital signs…no heartbeat, no body heat –wait a moment. There is a heartbeat coming from the female subject."

Zatanna frowned, crossing her arms. _Computer must be broken; I don't have a heartbeat…_ she thought, tuning him out until he addressed her after a few minutes.

"Hello in there," he greeted, pulling her attention back onto him. "I'm going to run some tests on you. I'm interested in how you work, but only because it's my task to find the most efficient way to kill your kind."

"Wow, don't sugar coat it or anything," Zatanna said sarcastically, growing apprehensive of the situation.

"Begin the experiment!" he ordered as his partner next to him pressed a few buttons and the lights switched on. "Test chamber has been filled with ultraviolet light, releasing moderate UV radiation. Does that burn at all?"

"It tickles," she answered in a deadpanned tone, honestly feeling nothing at all from the UV rays.

"Subject exhibits no sign of pain or even physical discomfort, proceed to the next chamber," he instructed as the door on her left opened up. Sighing, she followed through numerous amounts of tests that were on her resilience, regeneration powers, her shooting abilities, animal instincts and others.

Finally, after she shot the last electrical board, he spoke in admiration.

"You have demonstrated considerable mental and physical acumen," he admitted as she turned to him, still holding onto her gun. "And I'm quite perplexed how something that should be dead can display such strong survival skills."

He cleared his throat, walking towards the next room window. "Let's begin the final test. Step into the next room."

The door opened and she walked through, hearing his voice over the speakers planted on the wall.

"I've already determined fire is a weakness of your kind; I would like to know more about the psychological effect it has on you and how it may be exploited."

She muttered some curses under her breath as the door opened and immediately she aimed her gun at the pipes spitting out the fire. The neonate shot one of them three times before it exploded the entire room, some flames catching onto her coat.

Zatanna threw her coat off quickly as sirens blared through the air, causing her to wince slightly. Immediately, the sirens were cut off and she walked into the chamber as two guards raised their guns towards her.

_Hopefully this works,_ she prayed in her mind and proceeded to repeat the same action that caused Johnny to freeze before. She held her hands out in front of her and twisted them…but they didn't freeze.

" _Merda!"_ she swore, ducking against the wall before grabbing her gun and shot them both in the chest. Immediately, she jumped through the shattered window and chased after the Mandarin as he escaped through a door. "You are not getting off that easy."

"My employer's wrath is a thousand times deadlier than yours," he swore, running down the steps and pointed a shotgun at her. "I will not give you the satisfaction."

"You've pissed me off already, but I'm merciful enough to make it quick," she responded, ambling down the steps. Zatanna snapped her fingers and his body tensed up, dropping the shot gun. She placed her hands in a circle in front of her and made the motion of snapping his neck.

A loud, satisfying crack erupted from his neck as his head turned to the left sharply, killing him instantly. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Zatanna searched his pockets and found the cell key, spotting Barabus through the window.

Walking over, she unlocked the door as he watched her carefully.

"They got you too?" he guessed and she smiled, leaning against the doorway. "I've got no excuse. A Nosferatu getting caught by a bunch of humans…ugh…this is a new low."

"We all have bad days," she shrugged her shoulders. "Gary sent me to come for you. Let's get out of here."

"Wait," he held up his cuffed hands. "We can't go yet. There are servers here. We need to hack in and delete all of their research. Should be a mainframe on this floor."

Zatanna snorted as she helped him out of his cuffs. "Hacking? I'm not exactly experienced in that field."

"Fine, I'll do it," he muttered, jogging out of the room with her following right behind him. She threw open the door and smashed her fist into the guard's face, throwing him back against the concrete wall behind him.

Hearing a pained scream, Zatanna turned and found Barabus smashing another guard's head in, denting it and killing him instantly.

"Grab that office key," she called, heading towards the door as he joined her, sliding the card through the slot and opening it up. As Barabus proceeded to hack the computer, Zatanna's phone buzzed in her pocket.

_~I must speak with you urgently.~_

The Tremere frowned, reading the message from Rosa as Barabus finished shutting down the server. Together, they strode out of the office and onto the elevator, taking it back to the lobby.

"You need to call Gary as soon as possible," she told him as the door opened, revealing the empty lobby. "He needs to know that you're okay."

"Will do, thanks," he waved after they exited the building. "See you around, Lady Rogue."

She frowned, wondering just how many Nosferatu knew her unwanted nickname given to her by the psychic thin-blood. Before she could ponder any further, her phone buzzed once more with an unknown number coming up on caller ID.

"Hello?" she sighed, answering it.

" _You've done real well bringin' our boy back—I got your info hero,_ " Gary's voice snickered on the other end. " _The same information I gave the prince, I also traded to the Giovanni for a bit of juicy gossip. You both had an equal opportunity to take it, they just had a bit more…initiative."_

Zatanna rubbed her eyes tiredly. "The Giovanni?"

" _If you're going to play Jyhad, you need to do your homework,_ " Gary scolded her as she stared up at the night sky. " _Knowledge is power and power has a price. But seeing as how I've already got what I wanted from them, I'll give you a freebie."_

" _Oh you're going to love this—they've got skeletons in their closet…literally!"_ he chuckled as she leaned against a stone pillar. " _I should've played Catskills. Incest, organized crime, death cults—that's the Giovanni. Spaghetti and corpses, boss."_

"What secret do you have on them, Gary?" she asked, tugging on her grey spaghetti strapped singlet.

" _The Ankaran Sarcophagus isn't the only occult item they're hoarding,"_ he answered and she shivered at the mention of the sarcophagus. " _I hear they've got a collection that'd make Aleister Crowley come back from the dead—that is, assuming he isn't already sitting on a shelf somewhere over there._ "

" _Now, I know you're foolish enough to go there, but don't say I didn't warn you, boss. They have a mansion in the city. I'll draw you a map. They're having a reunion. Anyone who isn't a Giovanni shouldn't get within fifty yards."_

"Thanks for the info, Gary. I'll remember to pick you up some cake."

Gary chuckled in amusement. " _Am I the only one who saw this coming a million miles away?"_

"It seems so," Zatanna placed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Then again, you always seem to know everything."

" _You get 'em, boss. You give 'em one for Gary! If you should survive and ever need any information, come back and see me. I'm always here. And everywhere."_

"I'll remember that. Thanks again," she said, ending the call and shoving her phone back into her pocket. Before even considering heading off to deal with the Giovanni, Zatanna remembered Rosa's text.

For some reason, it felt like it was urgent.

* * *

**Translations -**

**Merda! - Shit!**

**_voi stronzo ignorante_! - You ignorant asshole!**

* * *

**Song: Passion and Sanctuary are the same song, one is in Japanese and the other English but both are sung by the wonderful Utada Hikaru.**

 


	15. Chapter Fourteen - Taking Back My Love

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**Taking Back My Love**

_**Day Forty-Eight…** _

_**Location: Santa Monica…** _

The taxi pulled up beside the curb and she stepped out, the sea breeze blowing through her dark brown hair. It had been some time since she was last in Santa Monica, since she had last seen the thin-bloods hanging around.

"Will that be all?" the driver asked as she closed the door and paid him without another word. As he drove off, her thoughts played on tonight's events and she was seriously exhausted. She could go for some coffee…

_Aspetta un minuto,_ Zatanna frowned to herself. For a split second there, coffee actually appealed to her. That hadn't happened before, not since her Embrace.

She shook her head; her exhaustion must finally be catching up to her.

The Tremere walked down towards the beach, smiling in greeting at E and Lily before finding Rosa waiting for her. "Is it serious?"

E shrugged his shoulders, thrusting his hands in his jean pockets. "Ain't it always serious with her?"

Rosa walked over and grabbed her hand, seeming impatient as she dragged the brunette far away from the others and away from the fire. When they were further away, close to some rocks by the shore, Rosa released her and sighed.

"Fortune is not our destiny, our paths can always change," Rosa began to ramble on, clearly stressed as her palms were pressed to her forehead. "Every time I sleep the future plays out for me…."

Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest as Rosa began pacing back and forth.

"But yours, yours has been constant—more so than before—and what I see disturbs me."

"What do you see?" Zatanna questioned, leaning against a nearby rock as she watched the psychic thin-blood. "Could we speed this up? Unlike you, I don't exactly do well in the sun."

Rosa halted, spinning around and pointed at her. "That is where you are wrong, Lady Rogue. I have _seen_ you standing in the daylight, walking amongst humans once more—multiple times."

Her frown deepened as Rosa began resuming her pacing.

"I have seen symbols of power and life, Chinese brothers, large dogs defeated….fire everywhere….Follow the lights to the end of the tunnel…an infant heavy on the shoulders….Trust none but the man of the couch, the lone wolf and the father….enemies everywhere with swords or words…power living inside the rogue…"

"Rosa," Zatanna called out, stopping the woman's mutterings as she couldn't make sense of half of the things she had spoken of. "What will my future be like after I return the Ankaran Sarcophagus?"

Rosa's eyes drifted off towards the sea, staring at it in silence. The only sound was the cold breeze that blew in every now and then, along with the waves cashing against distance rocks and washing up on the shore.

Zatanna shivered slightly at the cool breeze, rubbing her arms with her hands in an effort to warm herself.

"You will be hunted for the rest of your life."

She froze to the spot, staring at the thin-blood who seemed to still not be the present. Rosa continued to ramble on as if nothing were wrong.

"You and the dhampir….hunted at every turn…the voice in the darkness, boss, tries to shield…the father and the lone wolf will protect…." She blinked furiously, returning to the present and her eyes softened at her. "It chose you specifically…it has awaited thousands of years for your arrival."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I don't understand. Who is it that chose me?"

"You know what it is."

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Nine…** _

_**Location: Nosferatu Hideout, Hollywood…** _

Barabus had returned from Santa Monica, tying up a few loose ends when he discovered information that Gary would pay a lot for. Instead of stopping by Mitnick's room and chatting with him, the Nosferatu went straight to Gary's room.

"Boss? I got something you'd wanna know," Barabus spoke as he knocked on the door. He waited a few moments before hearing the all clear and opened the door.

Gary was sitting at the end of his long table, looking at him expectantly.

"Found something out…'bout that Tremere," Barabus reencountered what he had overheard, watching Gary smirk as he mentally ate in each piece of information. By the end of the explanation, Gary's face had switched from the overconfident smirk, to a deep and troubled frown.

Gary massaged his temples, inclining further into his chair. "Does LaCroix know any of this?"

Barabus shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest. "I doubt it, the only ones who knew were those Kine bastards and I took the liberty of deletin' any data left. You think he'd do somethin' if he found out?"

A bitter chuckle escaped his lips as his eyes met Barabus's curious gaze.

He leaned forward. "He would either use it to his advantage or have her hunted in fear of bringing on the apocalypse," he informed him, leaning back into his chair and gazing up at the roof. "And I actually like this one….for once."

**oOo**

_**Day Forty-Nine…** _

_**Location: LaCroix Towers…** _

Her mind was abuzz with the information given to her by Rosa that she had hardly slept the previous day. In fact, she spent most of her time surfing the internet and researching anything she could on the Ankaran Sarcophagus and what it contained…or had contained.

LaCroix is hell bent on believing it contains an ancient Mesopotamian King while she wasn't as convinced. Beckett believed it to be something far more dangerous and powerful; with Rosa's warnings enhancing that theory.

The elevator chimed, signaling her arrival at the top floor and she exited it, finding the small hallway empty and quiet. Swallowing her nerves, she strode down the hall and entered the office, finding Strauss conversing with LaCroix.

It seemed that they were having a heated discussion, by the tense stance Strauss held; but it seemed to end the moment she stepped into the room.

"Master Strauss," Zatanna bowed her head politely and he gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement as she stood beside him, addressing La Croix. "The Giovanni currently have the Ankaran Sarcophagus in their hands."

LaCroix clenched his fists tightly on the wooden desk. "Of course they did. Those incest-driven, impure blood whores!" he spat, cursing their name.

Zatanna glanced at Strauss, wondering if the older Tremere had put the prince in a bad mood but the thought was discarded as she resumed.

"I have information that there will be a party held tomorrow night at their mansion in the city," Zatanna informed him calmly but cut him off before he could even speak. "You will have to send someone else; our deal is now over."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "I beg your pardon?"

"The test was well and truly over. I have done more than enough to prove that I am not a danger to the Masquerade. I believe it is time for you to let me go."

"We're not finished! You still have much to do!"

For once, it was one of those moments where she could have kissed Strauss's feet if had asked her. "On the contrary, I can vouch that she has full control over her abilities. She has knowledge of the Masquerade that binds us and is in full aware of the law. The neonate has proven herself beyond our expectations, wouldn't you agree?"

LaCroix shifted his glare from her to him as Strauss stared back, unaffected by the daggers being sent his way. It was tense, with their staring contest going on and Zatanna waiting nervously to see the result.

Finally, LaCroix waved her away without so much as looking in her direction. Taking that as his answer, she turned on her heel and quickly left the office, her heart soaring. She was free.

She was finally free.

**oOo**

_**Day Fifty…** _

_**Location: Downtown Haven….** _

She had finished packing the essentials into five suitcases and closed the boot of the taxi, grinning to herself. After her employment with LaCroix was finished she took Beckett's instruction to heart and called Isaac. The Baron of Hollywood was more than happy to offer her shelter until she sorted things out for herself.

"Are you ready to go?" the driver asked, leaning his head out the window a little and she held up the keys to the place. "Gotta return those?"

" _Si_ , so I'll just be a second," she promised, heading back inside. She headed to the office of the owner and found the older woman frowning at her desk. " _Signora_ Yvette? Is everything alright?"

The older woman looked up and nodded, a tired smile on her face. " _Si_ , I am well. Are you and your friend's almost finished with moving your stuff? I need to hire cleaners before putting it up for lease again."

Her blood ran cold as she stared, her eyes widened slightly. She then leaned against the doorway, cursing herself slightly. Of course LaCroix wouldn't let her go that easily…

"Yes, I'll tell them to hurry up," Zatanna pursed her lips into a thin smile, taking a step back. " _Scusi un attimo_."

She headed back up to her old haven, cautious with every step she took. When she was close enough, Zatanna activated her Auspex and saw three Kine waiting for her.

_I'll have to knock them out;_ she thought and concentrated, hoping that combining two Disciplines together would bring out a higher chance of succession. Holding out her hand and pointing it to the wall, she narrowed her eyes.

" _Gift of Morpheus: Ssam rebmuls_ ," she hissed, giving all of her focus onto the spell. She didn't know if the pentagram appeared, but a few seconds later, all three intruders collapsed onto the ground without a fight. Taking this opportunity, she set up a few wards in the Hearth Path, making sure that when they awoke they would forget where they were and why they came.

Seeing her traps were set, Zatanna hastily left the apartment after dropping off the keys.

"Took you a while," the driver commented as he pulled out of the curb and began driving onto the main road. "Something holding you up?"

"The owner, she was fond of me," Zatanna murmured, gazing out the window and watching the lights whirl past her eyes.

Within twenty minutes, and that was with light traffic, the taxi pulled up at the front of Isaac's jewelry store as she had directed. Standing outside was one of Isaac's underlings who grabbed her bags from the boot as she paid the driver.

"Isaac's waiting for you in his office," the underling spoke curtly as they entered the store. He said nothing else and strode up the steps with her suitcases, carrying them with ease. She observed him for a moment before leaning against a nearby wall and taking a deep breath.

Everything happened so fast, she honestly needed a moment to comprehend her situation and the last fifty days. As she ran a hand through her hair, Rosa's warning echoed in the back of her mind like a chant.

_You will be hunted for the rest of your life…_

_It chose you specifically…it has awaited thousands of years for your arrival…_

"Why me?" she murmured, hugging herself and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Because you get yourself into crazy shit a lot."

Zatanna opened her eyes and glanced up at the owner of the voice; finding Nines leaning against the wall next to the staircase. His arms were crossed over his chest, his head lifted slightly as his blue eyes studied her.

She pursed her lips into a thin line. "I didn't ask for this," she reminded him and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"None of us did, Zap," Nines responded and much to her shock, her heart fluttered at the old nickname. She hadn't heard that in a while. "But you've survived longer than I gave you credit."

She shot him a half-smile. "Glad to see your faith in me hasn't been shattered."

He raised a brow, a smirk playing on his lips and she looked away, unable to meet his gaze any longer than necessary. Suddenly, she remembered Isaac and stood up straight, pointing her thumb in the direction of the baron's office.

"I'm gonna go and see Isaac…now," she informed him awkwardly, clearing her throat and quickly making a bee-line to the office without looking back. Her mind must have played a trick on her; she could've sworn she heard the faintest chuckle behind her.

Zatanna found the baron at his desk, writing something down when he looked up upon her arrival. Smiling, he stood up and walked around his desk, offering his arms out. Grateful, she smiled and walked into them, receiving the warm hug given to her.

"I am so sorry how sudden this is," Zatanna apologised as she pulled away, her shoulders slumped slightly. "I will never forget your hospitality."

Isaac waved it off as he resumed his earlier position at his desk. "Nonsense! You helped me and helped get the Nosferatu network back online. Not to mention, assisted the Anarchs on more than one occasion."

"Yeah….how's the blood hunt on Nines going?"

"As well as you can expect. Either LaCroix knows I have offered sanctuary to Nines or he is not aware of the Brujah's location. In the end, the prince hasn't bothered Hollywood," Isaac informed her and she glanced at a painting of a pale woman above the fire place. She wore a scarlet red dress that looks like it was from the 1920's. She hadn't noticed it before…

"Who is she?" Zatanna questioned, nodding her head at the painting. Isaac glanced over and his eyes softened at the picture.

"My wife, Ellana," he answered fondly, a sad smile on his face. "She died thirty years ago from a Sabbat attack. I couldn't protect her and found I could no longer see the painting without being reminded of my failure."

Zatanna frowned slightly. "What changed your mind?"

He pulled his eyes away from the portrait and focused them onto her. "You did."

"Me?" she asked, eyes widened slightly.

He nodded and gazed upon the portrait again, a small smile on his lips. "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, but loves leaves a memory no one can steal."

Feeling eyes on her, Zatanna turned around and her eyes met with blue ones as they stared down the hall. He glanced away and left her line of sight.

* * *

**Translations:**

**_Aspetta un minuto -_ Wait a minute.**

**_Si -_ Yes**

**_Signora -_ Madam**

**_Aspetta un minuto_ \- Wait a moment**

* * *

**Song: Taking Back My Love by Enrique Iglesias (I think that's how you spell it) ft. Ciara. Good song, recommend listening to it.**

 


	16. Chapter Fifteen - U & Ur Hand In Your Bed Of Lies

**Chapter Fifteen:**

**U & Ur Hand In Your Bed Of Lies**

_**Day Fifty-seven…** _

_**Location: Hollywood…** _

It had been a week since she began staying in Isaac's care and honestly, Zatanna had never been more relaxed since she was bitten. There were no items to chase, people to kill, investigate something weird, rescue others…

But it felt all wrong.

As much as she wanted to be, Zatanna hadn't felt truly at ease. There was some kind of tension in the air that seemed she was the only one to pick up on. When she had expressed these concerns to Isaac, he dismissed them as jitters.

The Toreador seemed to think it was her slowly adjusting to her new life but she didn't agree. Nines was no real help as well, either they didn't speak and avoided each other or when they did, it was awkward as fuck.

Like today, Zatanna was walking down the stairs with a real estate catalogue in her hand. She walked towards Isaac's office but heard an angry discussion coming from behind the closed door.

"—She's changed! You've seen it too," Nines's accusing tone caught her attention and she leaned against the wall, quietly listening. Yes, it was bad to listen in someone else's discussion, but she couldn't help it.

"She has become silent, yes I have noticed. That is nothing to get worked up over," Isaac responded calmly and she heard a low growl and something slamming against hard. She jumped slightly and hugged the catalogue closer to her chest. "Nines…"

"No, she's…she's not who she used to be…when was the last time you saw her drinking blood?" Nines asked and there was nothing from the baron. "Exactly, the longest I know she's ever gone was a week and I'm not seeing her drinking any."

_Now that I think about it I haven't had any since Chinatown,_ Zatanna realised with a slight chill running down her spine. In her new life, she hadn't exactly been good at keeping track of her blood intake. It was something that always slipped her mind in between everything else going on in her life.

But in the past, the Beast always whispered in her mind as if in warning. That is when she drinks, vowing to herself to never get to the point where she frenzied like she had with the Ninth Circle.

_No whispers…just nightmares,_ she rubbed her eyes tiredly with one hand as Isaac mentioned Beckett in their conversation.

"—He was adamant about keeping her hidden until he returned doing whatever that mutt does," Isaac said indignantly, particularly bitter on the word mutt. It made her wonder if there was bad blood between the two of them. "I only agreed because Miss Ible has much for the Anarchs. I have grown to care about her and I know you do as well."

"You're missing the point," Nines tried to argue but Isaac wouldn't hear it.

"I believe it is you who is missing the point, Nines. I have witnessed the looks you give her, the same ones she gives you. Instead of coming to me, you should go to her."

Unable to listen anymore, Zatanna turned away and headed back to her room.

**oOo**

_**That Night…** _

Reluctant to leave the softness of her bed, Zatanna just laid there and began reading the Sherlock Holmes series that had been in Isaac's library. She hadn't been down for dinner when one of Isaac's men had knocked on her door. In truth, she hadn't been hungry or thirsty.

_The days are just blurring together,_ she sighed, blinking a few times and turning the page. Just as she had been getting to an interesting part, someone knocked on her door and opened it without waiting for her reply.

"Hey," Nines spoke as she glanced at him. He wore a serious expression, his chin slightly up and kept firm eye contact with her. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay, that doesn't sound sinister at all," Zatanna commented, bookmarking her page before setting it down on the bed side table. Nines remained standing, frowning a little. "Nines, what's wrong?"

"I wanted to talk before I leave."

Zatanna's brows furrowed. "Leave? You've got a blood hunt on you!"

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "And if you stay here then I have to leave."

"What? Am I _that_ horrible to be around?" she demanded, a little hurt by his words and he let out a frustrated growl.

"That's not what I meant," he defended himself but Zatanna didn't hear it.

"Then what did you mean? Because it sounded like—"

"I can't put you in danger!" Nines shouted, causing her to freeze and her eyes widened at his words and the tone of his voice. His fists were clenched at his sides as his eyes never left hers. "I've got the blood hunt, not you. I can't let you get hurt because of me."

She was at a loss for words. There were so many things running through her head, how could she reassure him that they'd be fine?

"I'm already in danger," Zatanna commented quietly, gazing down at the red sheets. Her eyes studied her hands, her slightly pale fingers and nails. Rosa's warning was always with her, as if reminding her that she carried some sort of prophecy around like a handbag. She swallowed the lump in her throat and returned her gaze onto him. "Nines, something is going on. Something bigger than the blood hunt."

He narrowed his eyes and slowly, sat down on the bed facing her. "Besides LaCroix wanting my ass?"

A small laugh escaped her lips and she glanced down at her hands again. She felt his hand cup her cheek, thumb rubbing something wet from her eye.

"Do you regret it?" she asked quietly, lifting her face and finding his eyes fixed onto hers. "Speaking up for me back at the execution?"

"I don't regret speaking up against injustice. You were just a bonus," he answered with a small smirk, his eyes moving towards her lips. Blinking once, she saw that he wasn't using any disciplines. No sign of Presence.

With that knowledge, she leaned over and lightly pressed her lips against his. She felt him tense up slightly and before he could protest, informed him of the lack of Presence being used. His eyes were widened for a moment, absorbing the information quietly.

"Nines?" she said, checking to see if he was okay when he pounced and attacked her lips vigorously. There was no moment of hesitation shared between the two as he took her.

His lips made her skin burn hotter than any fire, melting in his arms. She felt almost human with each thrust, each kiss on her bare skin. His arms wrapped securely around her, keeping her firm against him.

When it was all over, the Brujah held her close in his arms. She rested her head on his chest, feeling safe for the first time in her new life.

"I'm glad I wasn't intoxicated for this one," Zatanna murmured against his chest, her fingers lightly tracing around his nipple. He hummed in response, playing with her hair with one hand and keeping the other around her waist. "Nothing I will say will convince you to stay."

It wasn't a question and they both knew the answer to that.

Nines kissed the top of her head. "I can't put you in danger," he repeated firmly, as if reminding himself why he would leave. She only swallowed and buried her face further into his chest, closing her eyes.

**oOo**

_**Day Fifty-Eight….** _

_**Location: Hollywood…** _

It was while she was reading in the library did the spell work for the first time for her. Upon the beginning of her stay with Isaac, Zatanna had placed several protection spells around the manor in order to keep them safe. One of them belonging to the Hearth Path; allowing her to instantly know who entered the house.

Rising from her seat, the Tremere headed down the steps and beamed at the sight of their guest.

"Beckett!" Zatanna cried out, thrilled to see him. She hugged him, surprisingly herself and the poor Gangrel but he returned it nevertheless. "What did you find?"

He gestured for them to take it to the living room just as Isaac appeared from his office. She noticed the tight smile he gave Beckett but remained polite as always in her presence.

"Miss Ible here has informed me that you were on the hunt to study the artifact that has everyone riled up," Isaac spoke calmly, sitting next to her on the couch as Beckett sat opposite of them.

His lips twitched slightly. "I was simply curious about it. LaCroix managed to recover it from the Giovanni," he informed them and Isaac snorted.

"Those filth must have been indulging themselves in their incestuous ways to allow one of LaCroix's lap dogs to recover something of that size."

"Quite," Beckett responded curtly before turning back to her. "LaCroix ordered me to study the Ankaran Sarcophagus. Unfortunately for the Heralds of Doom, it appears he won't be opening Pandora's Box anytime soon."

"The markings as far as I could tell, were of Assyrian origin—an extraordinary piece but nothing earth shattering. Which contradicts what we already know of it and what you had discovered on the Dane," Beckett said and she frowned. "You mentioned it was opened when you found it?"

"Yeah, with a bloodied hand print on the lid. It looked as if it had been opened from the inside," Zatanna confirmed, remembering it vividly.

"Which points to a theory that whatever value the sarcophagus once had has now declined. I believe it to have once held the soul of a powerful Antediluvian," he revealed and Isaac tensed beside her. She had no clue as to what an Antediluvian was but it seemed bad.

"But what does that have to do with the dreams?" Zatanna demanded, wanting something make sense for once. Beckett pursed his lips, clearly unhappy with the news he was about to deliver.

"What do you know of the Bible?" he asked her and she shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. "Ah, not very religious I see. Have you ever heard of the story of Deborah?"

Once again, she shook her head.

"According to Jewish tradition, Deborah was one of the only seven female prophets that they had ever witnessed. She was a woman of great intelligence and stood against injustice. She, along with a skilled warrior from the tribe of Naphtali, defeated the Canaanites," Beckett explained in detail, grabbing their attention.

"What does this have to do with Miss Ible?" Isaac snapped, feeling impatient as the Gangrel raised a brow at his attitude.

"The warrior, Barak was an Antediluvian. Before her death, Deborah gave one last prophecy that describes when a war of blood began, that a woman of gold shall birth a babe that either is the harbinger of Ghenna or its demise. This was further enhanced by a First Prophet of Amun during the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt, stating that a great queen will be reborn as the mother of a new age," Beckett concluded and Zatanna frowned, putting the pieces together before her eyes widened.

"You think it means me?" she protested, shaking her head furiously. "No. No, there's no way. Beckett, I'm not human anymore. As far as we know, no female vampire has _ever_ gotten pregnant let alone carried to full term."

"Yes, as far as we know," he repeated calmly, staring at her. "But given the circumstances, your dreams, physical evidence I am inclined to believe these ancient prophecies."

Before she could protest further, one of Isaac's men appeared in the doorway.

"Sir, a Kuei-jin asks to speak with Miss Ible," he informed them and the two exchanged a look. They hadn't entered so there was no way of her knowing who it was.

Isaac nodded and gestured towards him. "Send them in," he ordered and it didn't take long for her to know who it was.

"Ming-Xiao," Zatanna muttered quietly, tensing up slightly. She didn't like the woman when she met her and would rather not have anything to do with her. The Tremere's life was already now more complicated than it needed to be; having the Asian Kindred was not going to improve it.

When the Kuei-jin entered the room, the three of them stood up aruptedly and she held out a hand.

"Be at peace, Kindred, you stand among a friend now," Ming-Xiao informed them calmly but Zatanna didn't buy it for a second.

"Is that so?" Zatanna remarked, standing closer to Beckett. "Why are you here?"

"I come to help. Be at peace. Trouble is nothing but yours to give."

"I'm not exactly bubbling with delight over the prospect."

Seeing how pleasantries were no longer working, Ming-Xiao narrowed her eyes at the young neonate. "I see. Well, I will waste no more of my time with you. I just thought you should know that the alliance between your prince and the Kuei-jin has come to an end."

Beckett raised a brow as Isaac swore beside her. "Ah, so there _was_ an alliance."

Ming-Xiao glanced at the Gangrel briefly. "We did have an arrangement, LaCroix and I. A mutually beneficial pact to drive the lesser factions from the city."

"Factions like the Anarchs and the Sabbat," Isaac spat venomously, glaring at the woman who simply ignored his presence entirely.

"Why end the alliance?" Zatanna questioned the woman who placed a hand on her hip.

"LaCroix's zeal in recovering the Ankaran Sarcophagus has been to the exclusion of many relationships…mine included," she admitted and the Tremere could detect a slight bitterness in her voice. "And I, like yourself, have been used by him in his desperate for power."

Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin slightly. "How did he use you exactly?"

"LaCroix feared Alistair Grout, the Malkavian primogen—for the cursed insight of his bloodline was strong and brought him uncomfortably close to the truth about LaCroix's ambitions," Ming-Xiao explained as a slight chill ran down her spine. She didn't like where this was going. "LaCroix saw an opportunity to rid himself of two problems—a hardened rebel leader and a problematic primogen—in one stroke."

Before their eyes, Ming-Xiao's form shifted into Nines and Zatanna put the pieces together.

"It was you," she whispered in shock as Ming-Xiao reverted back to her original form. "You were at the mansion."

"Indeed. Imagine my surprise when LaCroix sent a Tremere. But you were to witness it, for your political naïveté put your word beyond reproach; no one would believe you'd devise such a story."

She looked at her in disgust, her blood boiling in anger with her fists clenched. "Unless you want me to rip your throat out right now, tell me why you're _really_ here," she snarled, glaring murderously at the Kuei-jin.

Ming-Xiao, she noticed, flinched slightly but raised her chin. "Hear these words, Kindred. The sarcophagus is sealed against the ages; only the proper key will break the seal. That key lies safely in Kuei-jin hands. Your prince's prize cannot be had without it."

"He's not my prince. I've cut all ties with that _figlio di puttana_!"

"That may be so but LaCroix is no longer of any use to us, and by extension, neither are you. The vine of your destiny withers. Your bloodline ends with that of your puppet prince," Ming-Xiao quipped and was quickly escorted out before Zatanna literally ripped her throat out.

When Isaac returned, he found Beckett holding Zatanna's shoulders and speaking with her quietly as she slowly calmed down.

"What do you recommend we do, mutt?" Isaac inquired the Gangrel who pursed his lips into a thin line. But it wasn't he who answered the Baron's question but the young Tremere.

"I'll go and find Nines," she stated firmly, stepping away from Beckett. "We'll stop both Ming-Xiao and LaCroix."

Isaac rubbed the bridge of his nose. "With what army? They both out match us with their numbers."

Zatanna smirked at him, hands on her hips. "That's where you're wrong."

* * *

**Translation** **:**

**Figlio di puttana - son of a whore.**

* * *

**Songs: Bed Of Lies by Nicki Minaj ft. Skylar. U & Ur Hand by Pink.**

 


	17. Chapter Sixteen - Flowers Of The Dawn

**Chapter Sixteen:**

**Flower Of The Dawn**

_**Day Fifty-Eight…** _

_**Location: Nosferatu Lair, Hollywood…** _

She had wasted no time after leaving Isaac's manor, heading straight for the Nosferatu lair. LaCroix was going to regret the day he used her as a pawn, having her meet with so many people.

People she became friends with, people she helped, people who owed her big time. Upon drawing up a list of potential allies to stand against LaCroix and the Kuei-jin, Gary had been at the top.

Zatanna ran past some rooms, coming up to the board walk when just the man she was looking for was waiting in the middle. Coming to a stop, the young Tremere clenched her fists before taking a few steps closer.

"I'd knew you'd be back, boss. Couldn't resist old Gary here," Gary chuckled and she cracked a small smile before turning serious.

"You know why I'm here."

"Of course. Nothing ever escapes my notice."

"Then will you help me?" Zatanna begged, keeping a firm gaze at the Nosferatu leader. Gary studied her quietly without saying a word as she noticed a small crowd gathering around them.

No doubt they were wondering what their leader was going to do; accept or decline her offer.

Gary rubbed his chin. "You know I don't do anything without getting something better in return," he had reminded her and she had anticipated this.

Without missing a beat, Zatanna opened her mouth. "Stopping a man who allied himself with the Kuei-jin to eliminate smaller factions from the city should suffice."

Gary smirked, his teeth showing slightly as he narrowed his eyes. "That's all well and good, boss. But why are _you_ trying to stop him?"

Pausing, her mind wandered to what Ming-Xiao had revealed to them. How she and LaCroix entered an alliance to get rid of what she suspected as the Anarchs and the Sabbat. While she was inclined to agree with the Sabbat and their violent ways, the Anarchs were nothing but independent.

Not to mention that Nines was currently being hunted for a crime he did not commit.

"Because the man I love was falsely accused and is being hunted down as we speak," Zatanna declared after a few moments of hesitation and when she saw the amused look in Gary's eyes, she knew she said the right thing. "So will you help me?"

"Is LaCroix still an asshole?"

**oOo**

_**Last Round Bar…** _

She had met up with the other Anarchs—who were happy to see the brunette. However, the warm reunion soon turned sour as Zatanna filled them in with what was going on.

"That Kuei-jin bitch! If I ever get my hands on her, I'll tie her eyelashes to her ass hairs and bowl her ass into a car compactor!" Damsel raged, fists clenched at her side. "Demon whore!"

"That's a new low, even for that bastard," Jack shook his head, exhaling the cigarette. "You got a plan?"

"Working on it. But I need to find Nines," Zatanna told them and her eyes went straight to Damsel. There was no doubt in her mind that Nines told at least Damsel of his current location. Those two were as thick as thieves. "Damsel, I know you know where he is."

The female Brujah exhaled, slowly calming herself down. "Nines is hanging out in Griffith Park," she informed her and Zatanna turned to walk down when Jack called out to her.

"We'll be on standby," he promised and she nodded, heading down the stairs and leaving the bar. She needed to get there and fast.

**oOo**

_**Griffith Park…** _

Her eyes observed the city lights further away as the cart trailed higher up into the mountain. The lights gave off the illusion of tiny stars bathing the ground. Normally, she would find the sight breathtaking but her mind was occupied with the wave of information.

On the way to Griffith Park, she ran into Beckett who seemed almost afraid of whatever was coming. He warned her to be careful and even offered to assist her but she turned him down and instead told him to stay with the Anarchs.

She needed to see Nines alone.

Her body swayed as the cart came to a stop and opened its doors. Taking a deep breath, she climbed off and walked straight towards the door. Opening it, she stepped out and down a path, soon finding Nines marching towards her.

"What part of 'can't let you get hurt' don't you get?" he barked at her but she didn't care. She was just happy to see him.

"Look, get pissed at me later. The blood hunt against you is off," she informed him firmly, watching as relief shimmered in his blue eyes. "Turns out an alliance between LaCroix and the Kuei-jin is gone. It's gonna be chaos down there."

"You got a plan?"

"Cut off both heads," she answered. "I know for a fact that majority of the Camarilla don't want to fight."

Nines rubbed his chin. "We lost a lot of people in the last war with those demons. We need an army."

"Already got that part covered. I just need you to come with me so we can start planning an offense," Zatanna said, holding out a hand. Nines took it and yanked her into his arms, pulling her close. "Nines?"

"It's…I'm glad to see you, Zap," he admitted quietly, mouth close to her ear. She swallowed as Rosa's predictions and the practically impossible discovery made by Beckett came to her mind. She needed to tell him that there was a slight possibility that she carried a child.

"Nines, there's something else you need to know," Zatanna spoke up but both of them tensed at the smell of smoke in the air. Nines pulled away, fist clenched as he was on high alert.

"We gotta get outta here," he stated, eyes darting around the surrounding forest. "You've been followed. That fire's coming from all directions—it's man made."

"It's fire. I can put it out with a couple of spells," she said dismissively but he shook his head, grabbing her hand. It dawned on her. "It wasn't set to kill, was it?"

"We need to get to the tram," he urged as they began to jog down the path. A howl, sounding like a dog's. "This is werewolf country and those wolves are gonna be out for blood."

"Then why the hell did you hide up here!"

"Because no one would come looking for me!"

Zatanna cursed as they drew closer to the tram dock, only to hear it leaving.

"Shit! It's leaving," Nines's grip on her hand tightened. "We've gotta hurry up and get inside until it gets—"

Out of nowhere, their hands were ripped apart as a giant wolf launched itself at Nines. Zatanna was thrown to the ground and she winced before glancing up in horror. Nines was thrown off the cliff with the wolf diving after him.

"Nines!" Zatanna screamed out in distress. However, her focus was soon turned to the growling coming from behind. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw one heading right towards her.

" _Path of Shadowcrafting: Gnitacsuroc wodahs_ ," she whispered quietly, allowing the shadows around her to glide over her body and hide her from plain sight. From there, she scrambled to her feet and pinned herself against a tree.

She could hear it get closer, the snarls getting louder until she could sense it behind her. Covering her mouth with her hand, she tried to keep her breathing quiet as it continue to growl and snarl.

Hearing it sniffing the air, she knew it was only a matter of time before it discovered her.

" _Mastery of the Mortal Shell: Ogitrev_!" she exclaimed, turning and holding out a hand towards the wolf. It's eyes flashed green and its body swayed unsteadily.

Taking the opportunity, she sprinted down towards the tram dock when it began roaring in fury. As she got closer to the door, the werewolf was right on her heels. Just as she reached out to grab the door handle, her body was thrown sideways, crashing her into the ground.

Zatanna winced in pain and looked up as the wolf charged towards her. In a last ditch effort, she held up her hands to shield her face and squeezed her eyes shut. The snarls turned into howls of pain before silence.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and found a pile of dust not too far from where the wolf was.

_Holy shit…what happened?_ Zatanna slowly rose to her feet. A gut feeling told her what had happened but she didn't want to believe it. Remembering Nines, she ran towards the cliff and gazed down, trying to find him.

"Please, please, please," she pleaded, her eyes searching but she found nothing. "It's Nines. He wouldn't die that easily."

Who was she trying to convince?

_Get to the tram,_ she reminded herself, turning away and heading into the building.

**oOo**

_**Day Fifty-Nine…** _

_**Isaac's Mansion, Hollywood…** _

She walked down the stairs, hearing multiple voices coming from the lounge room. As she entered, Jack began updating her on what happened when she went to retrieve Nines.

"LaCroix put a blood hunt on you—claiming you framed Nines and were in league with the Kuei-jin," he informed her as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry, boss. No one with an actual brain believes him," Gary reassured her but it didn't make her feel any better.

"This was his Plan B. Plan A was to kill you and Nines back in Griffith Park," Jack continued and her ears perked up at the name. "He's playing the victim. Saying you were like his own child and sold him out. Saying that Nines is dead and that you killed him."

"But," Isaac stepped in, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We know better."

Zatanna swallowed. "So what do we do now?"

"Destroying LaCroix is still on. Taking down the Kuei-jin will be a bonus," Jack said and she nodded.

"Then let's go," she turned to head out the door when Isaac grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"My dear, you shouldn't go in your _condition_ ," the baron said, giving her a look and she rolled her eyes.

"We don't know if what Beckett said was true."

Gary, the all-knowing smug bastard, cleared his throat. "That's where you're wrong boss," he commented and they all turned to him. He held out a file to her, looking at her expectantly.

Frowning, she grabbed it and opened. It contained data of some kind. "What's this?"

"Remember when you rescued my boy from those vampire hunters? This is the data they had during your test," the Nosferatu explained and she remembered what the guy said.

_As with the other, there are no vital signs…no heartbeat, no body heat –wait a moment. There is a heartbeat coming from the female subject._

Her eyes found what Gary wanted her to read and they widened. There was no way…

Isaac glanced over her shoulder and inhaled sharply as he too, found the piece of information. He grabbed the file as she stood there in a slight daze. Everything was coming back to her. The tests, Rosa's predictions, Beckett's discoveries, the dreams, the lack of blood intake.

"So it's true."

She didn't even turn when she felt Beckett stand next to her. "What do I do?"

Before he answered, the Gangrel turned to all of them. "What I am about to disclose to you all now must never be spoken outside of this circle. Am I clear?"

"Don't worry about ol' Garry here. I won't say a word," Gary promised and Beckett stared hard at Jack who nodded.

"Inside the Ankaran Sarcophagus was the spirit of a _very_ powerful and ancient Antediluvian. I believe that it was awoken upon arrival here into the city," Beckett informed them. "It sensed Miss Ible and stuck by her until the right moment for it to inhabit a new body. The body of an unborn infant."

"Wait, you're saying…" Jack broke off, gesturing to her and Beckett nodded. "Shit."

"Indeed. But because Miss Ible was already turned into a Kindred, it needed a womb that was capable of carrying. It forced a change. Turning her body from that of a Kindred—"

"Into a dhampir," Zatanna cut in. "Rosa told me she saw me walking in the sun, not affected by it."

"The dreams you've been having were its way of determining whether or not you were the prophesized queen that Deborah and many others foretold," Beckett explained to her.

"Anyone finds out that she had a child will kill her," Isaac state bluntly.

"That is why she needs to leave the country."

Jack turned to her, looking her straight in the eye. "Nines?" he asked and she nodded, understanding his question. She could see the pity in his eyes and gave him a small, pained smile of her own.

"Before I leave, I need to take LaCroix down once and for all," Zatanna interrupted the other two. Isaac and Beckett seemed to want to object but Gary cut them off.

"She's right. Until he's dead, it won't matter what country she's in," Gary reasoned and they all fell silent. It weighed down heavily on what needed to be done.

**oOo**

_**A Few Hours Later…** _

_**Ming-Xiao Palace…** _

Zatanna stared down at Ming-Xiao's misshapen, dead body. With a few Nosferatu that Gary sent with her, they managed to kill the Kuei-jin leader and recover the key.

Pulling out her phone as they exited the underground, she dialed Gary's number and waited until he answered.

" _Bitch finally croaked?"_ Gary said, answering the phone as she walked up the steps and down the hall. Bodies lie in wake, all dead.

"And we've got the key. All that's left is LaCroix," she informed him, stepping outside and breathing in the cold night air.

" _Smiley wants you to meet up with him at the Star Motel. Didn't say anything else but I'd recommend going, boss,_ " the Nosferatu said before hanging up. She pocketed her phone and climbed into the waiting taxi, keeping a firm hold on the key.

"I'll be here," the driver told her as he pulled up to the curb. Zatanna said nothing, opening the door and stepping out. She found Jack waiting for her out the front.

"Before you go see him, I needed to talk to you," Jack pulled her aside, his tone dead serious. "You know this baby is gonna be a serious problem. People need to believe you're dead before you can ever be safe."

"What do you suggest?" she asked him quietly.

"I've got something special planned for LaCroix so just give him the key and get the heck out of that building. My friend will bring you back to Isaac's mansion and we can make you disappear," Jack informed her and she nodded. "Also…are you gonna tell Nines?"

"He deserves to know," Zatanna confirmed, walking past and heading up towards the room. Damsel was posting as guard and nodded at her in greeting.

"I'll make sure nobody interrupts," Damsel mentioned casually, stepping to the side to allow her access. Zatanna smiled and headed inside, closing the door behind her.

She turned and walked into his open arms, feverishly pressing her lips against. He was safe. He was alive. He was there.

"Isaac told me everything. Taking down Ming-Xiao just made you even more of a bad ass than I already thought," Nines said, pulling back a little. He saw the hesitation on her face and frowned. "Zatanna, what's wrong?"

"Remember when I was trying to tell you something back at Griffith Park?" she asked and he nodded. "You might want to sit down for this."

He looked concerned and she told him everything that they had discovered about the Ankaran Sarcophagus—from what it contained to what it did to her. When she disclosed that she was confirmed pregnant and it was his, Nines looked beyond shocked.

"Shit," he rubbed his chin, staring at her stomach.

"From what we've gathered, I'm three months along, making this already an unusual pregnancy. After I've dealt with LaCroix, Beckett's made arrangements for me to head to England," she told him and rose to her feet. "I thought you should know."

"I…you know I can't leave L.A."

"I know. I'm not making you choose. I'm choosing for you."

Nines fell silent for a moment before standing and pulling her back into his arms. "Come back to me alive," he whispered, kissing her hair. She closed her eyes, soaking up his presence before pulling away.

"I'll see you soon," she stepped back and turned, heading out the door.

She had to finish this once and for all.

* * *

**Song: Akatsuki no hana by Cyntia.**

 

 


	18. Epilogue: Float

** Epilogue: **

** Float **

**_Four Years Later…_ **

**_Alfriston, East Sussex, England…_ **

Alena heard the soft pitter patter of footsteps coming down the hall and smiled to herself. She listened as they paused by the kitchen—no doubt ready to pounce or surprise her.

“Good morning Ben,” Alena called, dishing up the porridge into a small bowl and adding some honey on top.

“Morning mummy,” Ben replied, a little dejected that his sneaking skills weren’t up to par. Turning around, she placed the bowl in front of him on the table and he began to dig in.

The brunette filled up a mug with some coffee and began drinking it, glancing down at the newspaper. Ben looked up from eating, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Is Uncle Beck coming today?” he asked his mother and she pursed her lips in thought.

“I think so,” she responded and raised a brow, bringing the cup to her lips. “Why, is there something I’m not allowed to see?”

“Yes! Boys only!” he declared, drawing a laugh from his mother.

“Okay. I won’t trample on your man time. Before that happens though, finish your breakfast and get ready for pre-school,” she reminded him and he nodded, shoveling the food quickly into his mouth.

Ben soon finished eating and jumped out of his chair, running to his room to get ready. As Alena cleaned up the breakfast dishes, her phone rang—the burn phone Beckett had given her.

“He’s very excited to see you,” Alena informed her close friend as soon as she had answered.

“ _Something new to show me?”_ Beckett inquired with a slight chuckle.

“Something that he won’t show his mother. Boy’s only,” she quoted, rinsing out her coffee cup and putting it on the dry rack. “How’s the situation in the States?”

“ _The alliance is shaky but still holding firm. Gary informed me that Italy is still a hot zone for any Tremere. Apparently the Elders are still looking into the phenomenon from four years ago.”_

Alena’s shoulders slumped as she leaned against the counter. “I kinda hoped that they’d given up by now,” she admitted quietly.

“ _You have to give them credit for their stubbornness. But there are plans in place to ensure they don’t look in your direction. You were the only known Tremere to have been born outside of the pyramid.”_

“I’m ready mummy!” Ben announced, running into the kitchen with his jacket zipped up. His dark chocolate brown hair was ruffled, evidently how he used a certain gift to rush.

“What time will you get here?” Alena asked, crouching down and fixing her son’s hair. He allowed her—seeing it was better than getting yelled at for doing what he did.

“ _I’ll drop by around seven,”_ Beckett answered. “ _And Alena? I’m bringing a few guests.”_

“Okay. I’ll see you later,” she hung up and narrowed her brown eyes at her son. He shifted, glancing down at his feet and refusing to meet her gaze. “Beckett Alexander Cullen, please tell me you made sure no one saw."

Ben nodded and she sighed, kissing his forehead. “Why do we have to hide our magic mummy?” he asked and she grabbed his hands into hers.

“Because there are people who would be scared by it. It’s our job to protect the innocent. We have these gifts to help people,” she answered, stroking his cheek with her thumb. “Work in the shadow to serve the light. Do you understand?”

Ben nodded and she smiled, rising to her feet.

“Come on, let’s get you to pre-school,” she said as they headed out the house.

**oOo**

**_That Afternoon…_ **

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Alena waved to her co-worker behind the desk. She walked out of the library, heading down the street to the supermarket. There was another hour until she had to pick up her son, giving her enough time to grab groceries.

Parking her silver Kia Pro ceed, she climbed out and grabbed a trolley. As she shopped, her mind went back to the conversation with Beckett earlier.

 _I guess that’s another thing he did right. Making me outside the pyramid,_ she thought, putting some milk into the cart and headed to the register. She paid and packed everything away into the car, checking the time at the end. Seeing as she had five minutes left until pick up, she headed over and waited in the car.

When Alena first picked up her son from the pre-school, a lot of the mothers more or less judged her for being a single mother. Mainly those who were married and such. There were a few single parents that she got along with but Alena tended to try and avoid the others.

As it got closer to the time, she got out and waited by the front gates.

“Alone again today?” Charlene, one of the married mothers called. Alena crossed her arms across her chest, intending to ignore her. “You know; Ben would benefit from a father figure. Just some friendly advice.”

Alena put on the fakest smile she could muster. “When your husband stops cheating on you with that blonde check-out girl from the supermarket, is the day you can give me advice about parenting. Until then, stay out of my business,” she informed the woman sweetly, turning away just as the kids were let out. Ben ran out, grinning from ear to ear.

“Is Uncle Beck here yet?” he asked, practically bouncing in excitement as she took his hand.

“Not yet sweetie. Let’s head home first before you burst,” she laughed, leading him away and into the car. Ben was animatedly telling her about his day—how he built an awesome sandcastle in the sand pit—as she drove. Pulling up in the driveway, Ben left to go play in the backyard while she brought the groceries in.

One thing she kinda missed being a Kindred was the strength.

It was still enhanced, just not as much as it used to be. Along with enhanced senses. She still had her magic and thankfully, didn’t crave blood as much as she used to. That was one perk.

As the sun began to set, Alena headed to the back door to call her son when her blood froze.

A sickly pale man was approaching Ben, coming from the forest. Fear pricked at her skin as she ran to her son who was playing in the sandbox.

“Mummy?” Ben frowned, seeing his mother’s panicked expression and looked over. He saw the man as well. “Is he a bad man?”

“Yes so come inside,” she instructed and he got up, running inside the house. She closed the door, activating the charm just as he stopped in front of the wooden fence. “Is there something I can help you with?”

He said nothing, shifting his gaze from her to Ben hiding behind her inside the house. Alena moved, blocking him from the man’s view and regaining his focus. He went to touch the fence but was thrown back by the runes engraved onto them.

“Witch,” he spat, rising to his feet. Alena raised her chin, neither confirming it nor denying it. It was better that he suspected she was a witch rather than a dhampir. When he tried to approach the fence again, a howl resonated from the woods nearby. Glancing at them, the man clenched his fist and hurried away, probably assuming it was a werewolf.

As it technically _was_ werewolf territory.  

Alena released the breath she had been holding, watching as he disappeared. A single werewolf broke out from the forest, sniffing the air before trotting towards the house. It stayed on the other side of the fence and she met its eyes.

“We’re fine,” she told him and he snarled. “He’s not a friendly. Warn the pack as there could be more of them.”

He whined, pawing at the ground and she smiled.

“No need to hang around. Beckett will be here soon and the barrier holds up,” she reassured him and he growled before taking off back into the forest. Alena rested her hands on the fence, sighing quietly to herself.

Ben was the most protected child ever known.

When she had first moved here during her pregnancy, Beckett had contacts within the local coven. They allowed her to join as her magic was close enough to theirs so she could pass as a witch. This granted her additional protection from the local werewolf pack as they and the coven had some kind of treaty going. It worked out great for her son.

Thinking of him, she turned and found him still inside, watching her through the glass screen door. Putting on a smile, she headed back inside as it grew darker. She didn’t want him to worry—she only wanted Ben to have a happy childhood.

“Uncle Beck will be here soon. Why don’t you watch some TV while I make dinner. How’s hamburgers sound?” she asked and his eyes lit up—his favorite food.

“With onions?” he asked and she nodded. Grinning, he ran off to the lounge room as she went to prepare dinner. As she was cooking the patties, a chime went off in the house. She could hear Ben call out Beckett’s name and smiled to herself. Moving the patty off of the pan, she turned off the stove and headed towards the front door. Smiling at Beckett, her eyes found her son hugging a certain Brujah.

Feeling her eyes on him, Nines looked at her. Those piercing blue eyes sent her heart into a frenzy, something he always did. Ben was telling his father something, beaming the entire time.

“Sweetie, why don’t you tell your dad what you did in the sandpit today inside?” Alena suggested, gesturing for them to come in. Ben practically dragged his father inside, informing him in great detail about the sandcastle he had built as Beckett hugged her. “One came here earlier.”

Beckett didn’t seem surprised. “They’ve started looking into covens. Your one is smart enough to ally with the local pack.”

“So they’re getting that desperate now?” Alena frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. “Do I need to move?”

“No. In the likely case, this one assumed you were indeed a witch and will move on,” Beckett advised her. “But I recommend caution for a while.”

Ben ran into the room, interrupting the conversation. “Can I go outside with daddy and Uncle Beck?” he asked his mother.

“Dinner first and then you can go,” she informed him, heading back into the kitchen to finish it. When dinner was cooked, Beckett helped dish it up while Nines finally pulled her aside.

“Surprised to see me Zatanna?” he asked, trapping her with the counter.

“It's Alena remember,” she gently reminded him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “But yes, surprised and very happy to see you.”

Nines hummed, stealing a few kisses before pulling back and staring into her eyes. His fingers lightly traced her hips, sending shivers down her spine. Alena had begun to realise how much more sensitive she was to his touch after having Ben.

“How long will you be here for?” she asked, secretly hoping for more than two days.

“A week. Maybe two,” he answered and she beamed. “Things have settled down enough back in LA for me to come out. Wanted to see Ben.”

“He’s missed you.”

Nines’s eyes darkened a little, a small smirk on his face. “I hope he isn’t the only one,” he muttered, moving his lips to neck and lightly grazing them. Alena inhaled sharply, biting her lips in an effort to stop her from moaning.

“You’ll have to find out later,” she said breathlessly, lightly pushing him away. “I think your son demands your attention first.”

Nines turned around, finding Ben heading towards them with his empty plate. “All done?” he asked and Ben nodded.

“Can I got outside now?” Ben asked her as she grabbed his empty plate.

“Yes but listen to your dad and Uncle Beck,” she smiled and he cheered, running straight out. “And don’t stay out too late!”

“He’ll be fine,” Nines reassured her, kissing her cheek before following after the four-year-old. Beckett and Alena shared knowing looks before the Gangrel headed after them.

* * *

**Song: Float from Tinkerbell and The Legend Of The Neverbeast.**

**So this is the end. There are some things I've probably left out but you guys can fill in the blanks. Hoped you enjoyed this story and please check out the game!**

 

 


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